Lillyesque
by Nixi Stasia
Summary: A collection of one-shots about the life of the Professor's daughter, Lilly Layton.
1. Her

**AN: So, I had an OC called Lilly Layton like three years ago and did nothing but write stories about her... Sorry now I'm gonna do it again.**

 **I was gonna call this "100 Ways To Be A Lady" but I don't wanna limit myself to 100 one shots. In all fairness, it's unlikely I'll even reach 20. So I stole the name from an old, deleted fic of mine and... Ta-da! Enjoy!**

 **I own Lilly, but the rest is borrowed from the lovely Level-5.**

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Her

 _7th June, 1948_

Hershel Layton smiled as he watched the countryside rush past from outside the window. The coach journey was rather rickety, but the scenery radiating from outside was so tranquil that anyone could fall asleep after losing themselves into the beauty of the rich trees, bright blue sky, and small delicate flowers... And almost everyone had. In fact, Hershel was the only passenger to remain awake.

The week long archaeological expedition had been much more exhausting than all of the students had been anticipating. It really was no wonder that so many had fallen asleep on the journey home, and Hershel, too, was tired, but with so much on his mind, the Professor could not doze off. Nor did he want to.

It was rather strange how things had worked out remarkably well for the man so far. Here he was, the young age of twenty-two; the youngest ever to make it onto a Professorship scholarship course. The course would take another five years to complete, but the bursaries included in the scholarship meant he was able to pay for the bills that the small flat that he accommodated in a slightly cheaper area of London with no issue. Then, if things couldn't be better than that, he did not live alone, but with a wife.

Hershel met Claire Foley not far into their first year at University and, in short, it was from then on that he believed in love at first sight. The couple had never had any problems, unless you were to count the discovery that Claire was with child, which had occurred seven months ago. Those short months ago, Hershel and Claire had been unmarried and Claire an assistant in an experimental research laboratory (when the two had met, Claire had been studying for a degree in physics) which proved dangerous towards an unborn child, due to radioactive substances. This was quickly sorted out and Claire was temporarily placed in a new department at the in the research institue: peer assessment. The strict enforcement on behalf of Claire's parents meant that the two were married within a month. Of course, Hershel couldn't complain about marrying the love of his life, but ideally he would have liked the ceremony to have been completed after he became a Professor, simply because that had been what he had planned. But he couldn't complain. Really, he had no reason to. There was not an aspect of his life that he did not like.

Their child was expected to arrive in just over two weeks. He was extremely frightened about becoming a Father, but similarly, he knew that there was no way for a person to be excited without being the least bit terrified, too.

-X-

The coach stopped outside the block of flats Hershel lived in not even an hour later. Stepping outside, the Professor found that the air really was much heavier in London than it was in the countryside. Since he was in London a majority of the time, he sometimes forgot how crowded and vast the city really was... Yet he still liked it. London was the heart of England; there was nowhere else he wanted to be.

Hershel unlocked the door to the block and made his way up the stairs; his and Claire's flat was on the third floor. He didn't need to knock, after all it was his own flat. Besides, there was no way of surprising his wife, when she knew he would be home that afternoon, and it was nearly two o'clock. He swiftly opened the door and wandered into the flat.

It was a small flat, as obviously the couple were on a rather tight budget. They'd moved into a two bedroom flat recently, with the financial help of Claire's parents. His parents in law were also loaning money to them on a monthly basis in order to help pay for the needs of a child. Of course, all the money would be paid off when he became a Professor.

"Hello!" Hershel called, placing his bags down beside the door. He made his way into the living room, expecting to see his heavily expectant redheaded wife on the couch, perhaps asleep or reading.

The living room was empty. So was the dining room. And kitchen. However, the door had been unlocked, so there was clearly someone else in the flat. The only room left unchecked was the bedroom, but Claire wasn't the sort to sleep in, or to go to bed in the middle of the day- even in her condition. Yet it was the only place she could be (neither was she the type to forget to lock the door on her way out).

"Claire...? Oh!" Hershel gasped suddenly as he opened the bedroom door. Claire was indeed in the bedroom; she lay on her back, on top of the covers, and with her auburn curls tied up hurriedly on the top of her head. Hershel had been expecting to see her swollen stomach, but in its place was a bundle of blankets... "Oh my..."

Claire smiled brightly towards him, her arms holding the blankets close to her chest.

"Hershel," Claire beamed with a hushed voice, as Hershel cautiously walked over to the bed. "I'm sorry I didn't call you in here. I just didn't want to startle her."

The archaeologist bent down and sat himself besides her on the bed. A small smile crept onto his face.

"Her...?" He repeated, quickly becoming dazed.

"Yes, her..." Claire nodded, carefully pushing herself up with one hand, the other still firmly against the torso and head of the infant, to keep her in a sturdy position as she moved. "Here, come and meet her..."

Hershel gently brushed the hood of the blanket to the side, to reveal the small child's face. Even as a newborn, aspects of Claire were visible in her... Their daughter. Dark tufts of brown hair, which were unlike Claire's red streaks, stuck out of the top of the blanket, but her small nose was definitely Claire's.

"Oh..." Hershel murmured in wonder.

Claire let out a small giggle. "Here, take her..." Claire carefully adjusted herself before gently placing their child in Hershel's cradled arms.

As the baby girl was handed over to him, he smiled gently at the warmth and the weight of her against his chest, and looked at her very carefully. He couldn't help but study every detail of her face, it seemed all so perfect. Being manoeuvred made the infant jump slightly, her eyes slowly widened and she glanced around the room, as if she were checking the surroundings, before she looked up and caught her first glance of her Father.

"She knows it's you..." Claire whispered, "She knows who you are."

The Professor barely acknowledged the statement, he was so mesmerized by the child that was his. She smelt so warm, and her hair was so rich in colour, then her eyes were a bright blue like the countryside sky, and her small fingers and tows that poked out the blankets were small and delicate. Never had he seen anything so beautiful.

"She's... She's wonderful..." Hershel mumbled quietly; he wasn't quite aware he was speaking.

"She's two days old," Claire told him, her eyes on their daughter, too. "She decided to surprise us and come early."

"Oh no," the Professor shook his head. "A lady is never early. Everyone else is simply late."

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 **AN: It was pointed out to me that the phrase is "A lady is never late, everyone else is simply late". That was the point. Just to be clear.**

 **Righteo thanks for reading, a review would be great, and so would a request if you have any ideas.**

 **If you're a big fan of the Layton/Claire ship than you can also put in a one word request for my new story (should be published sometime this week) "A Hundred Snap Shots of Their Lost Future". It will be a collection of 100 one-shots on what could have been if Claire had not lost her life. And it will all be based off of 1 word requests made by you lovely lot. So someone one words would be FAB!**

 **Nikki ~**


	2. Do You Love Her?

Do You Lover Her?

10th March, 1962

Lilly Layton pranced around her older brother's office nonchalantly. She ignored the mess and the odour of off milk, that had risen out of old mugs of tea that had been neglected from a wash and smiled to herself, glad to be out of school for the day. Even though she found Scotland Yard to be a slightly intimidating place, she surprisingly felt a lot more safe in her brother, Alfendi's, office.

Alfendi walked into find his younger sister spinning around underneath the only light in the room, with important papers surrounding flying around her like doves rising up from the ground. Managing to avoid a chuckle at a seemingly melodramatic scene, Alfendi let out a small cough to announce his presence. Upon hearing this, Lilly stopped suddenly, her brown hair flicking her cheek and chin and turned to face her brother.

"I thought you were sick" Alfendi remarked, walking into the room in his signature white coat, pushing a lock of his deep red hair out of his face.

Lilly rolled her eyes and followed her older brother to the other side of his office and to the desk, where Alfendi carelessly dumped a pile of papers that were only to be neglected along with all the papers in the room.

"Had you not already figured it out that I was faking, so I didn't have to go to school?" Lilly queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I had- you're acting skills could really do with some work. I just thought you'd hold up the act a little while longer," Alfendi flatly replied, turning to his mug of coffee.

The brunette merely let out a small 'hmph' noise, annoyed at his comment about her acting ability, before moving a cardboard box off of the only other chair in the room and sat down. She was beginning to grow bored already, but she most certainly didn't want to admit it. She'd lied to her Father earlier in the morning and complained of headaches in a weak, croaky voice. Of course, being his usual kind self, he'd told her she could have the day of school and had sent her to his son's work place, so an eye could still be kept on her.

Lilly had been glad at first. Day time television really was boring and there wasn't much else in the house to do, without company and a police station most certainly was an incredibly exciting place to spend the day. Well, that was how it had sounded at first, however once Lilly had arrived she'd found her brother's office to be a very boring and dull place indeed. Still, it was much better than going to school.

"What subjects?" Alfendi asked his younger sister suddenly, his eyes not moving from his work.

"Huh?" Lilly raised an eyebrow, looking up from her work.

"I asked what subjects," the Inspector repeated, moving his eyes up to look at the teenager. When Lilly only gave him a more quizzical look, he sighed, "What lessons are on your timetable today at school?"

"Oh," Lilly nodded, "Citizenship, history, double science, then double English."

Alfendi nodded, averting his eyes back to his many mountains of forms, which he needed to fill out. "I thought so," he murmured. He knew perfectly well about his sister's slow approach to learning.

The rest of the morning passed incredibly slowly for the Layton siblings. Neither of them said a thing to each other except for when Lilly began to tap her foot against the floor and Alfendi told her to stop, but even then that was only one word. Alfendi didn't even look up from his work once; he seemed completely sucked into his work. This was unlike Lilly, who was trying to draw, but was finding it very difficult to do so in a room with very little inspiration. In the end, she sketched a cobweb, as similar as she could to the one in the right corner of the office.

Just before lunch, there was a soft knock on the door and a woman in a green jacket, with short brown hair, brown eyes and a brown hat to match, burst into the room. A wide grin was spread across her face and she made a rather bouncy entrance. Lilly found it quite amusing and also reassuring- she was beginning to wonder if anyone happy was around that day.

"Morning, Prof!" the woman greeted, closing the door behind her.

"It's not quite morning anymore, Lucy," Alfendi replied, finally looking up from his work and giving her a soft smile.

Catching a small sparkle in her brother's eye, Lilly was momentarily distracted and quickly turned her head to stare at him. She'd never seen him look at _anyone_ that way before, yet, the look seemed vaguely familiar.

The woman gave a small giggle as she looked further around the room, inspecting every corner of it, quickly spotting the young brunette in a purple dress. Her eyes widened and she excitedly looked at Alfendi.

"Who's this then?" she questioned, extremely enthusiastic for such a simple question, "She's a bit too young to be a suspect in our latest crime, isn't she, Prof?"

"Oh, yes, my apologies, Lucy," Alfendi quickly said, "Lucy this is my younger sister, Lillian. Lillian, this is my assistant, DC Lucy Baker."

"Nice to meet you, Lillian!" Lucy beamed, holding out her hand for Lilly to shake, "I didn't know the Prof had a sister."

"Lilly, not Lillian" Lilly corrected, giving Lucy a soft smile and shaking hand, "Why do you call my brother Prof?"

"What? Oh, it's just a nickname," Lucy shrugged.

"A... A nickname..." Lilly muttered, frowning slightly.

"Anyway..." Lucy let go of Lilly's hand quickly, turning to look back at Alfendi, who had, of course, turned back to his work. "Could I do anything for you, Prof?"

"Could you get me and Lilly some tea, please?" Alfendi requested with a soft smile (one that Lilly had most _definitely_ never seen before).

"Sure thing!" Lucy said, the same grin still plastered across her face, "Won't be long!"

Not even a second later, she disappeared out of the door and the second she did, Lilly turned to her older brother with one eyebrow raised. For half a minute or so, Alfendi tried to ignore his sibling, knowing _exactly_ what she was going to say. However, he found trying to do his work with both Lucy and his sister's glare on his mind was too much of a task.

"What is it, Lillian?" Alfendi questioned, rather irritatedly, looking back up at his sister.

"She gave you a nickname," Lilly replied bluntly, "No one gives you nicknames."

"It... It's not a nickname," Alfendi began to protest.

"No? What is it then?"

"It... It's just a name."

"Can I call you Prof?"

Alfendi stared at the teenager for several seconds, his mouth open. He knew his sister wasn't particularly intelligent, however she was clever. And as a teenage girl, this would be the exact type of thing that she would catch on to. With a sigh, he looked back down at his work.

"No," he muttered.

"Then how come...?"

"Because she can," Alfendi replied, "Now, I need to get this work done. Do you think you could stay quiet for just ten minutes?"

Rolling her eyes, the young brunette turned back to her sketchpad and turned the page to a plain one. For a few minutes, she practised her shading and gradient skills, starting of with a darker shade before slowly lightening the shade every few strokes. Once she got to the middle of the page, she began to press harder on the tip of the pencil, slowly creating a darker shade across the righter side of the paper. Once she was done, she looked back at her work; quickly deciding that it looked a lot like the shard of light that came through into the office, between the door and the wall. Looking back at the paper, she was certain that it had been more than ten minutes since Alfendi had told her to be quiet.

"Alf..."

"Three more minutes," he quickly interrupted.

Lilly closed her mouth again, even though she knew there was no way that she'd only been quiet for seven minutes. Alfendi had been writing the entire time (she'd heard the scratch of his pen louder then she'd been able to hear the one of her own) and surely not even _he_ could write and count at the same time. However, she really did want him in the best mood possible he could be in for the question she was about to ask him.

And, so, she counted.

"Alfendi?" Lilly began, the second she reached the number a hundred and eighty.

"Yes?" Alfendi responded in a rather exasperated tone.

"Is Lucy... Your girlfriend?" Lilly asked slowly. She knew that it certainly was a dangerous question to ask. But, even without a criminal around, Alfendi wouldn't react too drastically, would he?

For several seconds (which felt a lot longer to Lilly) there was no response. And, then, Alfendi put his pen down and rested both of his elbows on the desk and intertwined his fingers.

"No..." he replied carefully, "No she isn't. She's my assistant, Lillian. It would be rather inappropriate for us to have a personal relationship."

"Yes, but... Do you love her?"

Alfendi's cheeks suddenly went a deep red, clashing with his crimson hair.

Lilly's eyes and mouth widened and a small giggle escaped her lips. "You do, don't you? You love her!"

Just as Lilly spoke, the door of Alfendi's office opened and Lucy Baker walked back in, carrying a tray with a teapot. The smile was still plastered on her face, but upon hearing Lilly's question, she raised an eyebrow in excitement.

"Who loves who?" the Detective Constable asked, chuckling.

Glancing at her brother, Lilly immediately closed her mouth. Alfendi, who had indeed gone an even darker shade of red and he was scratching the back of his head, giving Lucy an awkward smile, certainly did feel something for his assistant. And she most certainly did, too (why else would she give him a nickname?), but maybe it would be best if she let them figure things out for themselves.

"Err, no one..." Lilly gave a small shrug, immediately turning back to her sketchpad.

Lilly barely said a word for the rest of the afternoon, but she kept a watchful eye on both of them the entire time. And by the time the Professor came to pick her up, Lilly knew for certain that were was something strong between her brother and his assistant. It looked like she would have to keep a watchful eye out on the both of them.

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 **AN: This was indeed an old fic of mine, which has been put here! Now, my Alfendi theory will come into this fic soon, too, so keep your eyes peeled! I'm also planning to have Lucifendi weddings and babies stuff pop upin here from time to time, sokeepyour eyes peeled for that, too!  
**

 **Requests are always welcome too! And reviews are much loved!**

 **Nikki~  
**


	3. Kick

Kick

30th April, 1948

"Hershel!"

The sound of Claire Foley's voice rang through the small flat, alerting Hershel Layton and throwing him into such a deep panic, that he dropped the archaeology book he was reading onto the kitchen tiles and sped into the living room at such a speed that he almost fell into the room. Stumbling to a stop in the doorway, he glanced over at the redhead, who sat on the settee, with her hands on her rather large stomach, that seemed to stick out from the rest of her body. Hershel had expected to see his sweetheart in panic and frowned with curiosity as he saw a content smile on her face as she stared down lovingly at her bump. Slowly, he made his way towards her and crouched beside her, so he was eye-level with the bump.

"What is it, love?" the archaeologist asked, looking up at Claire.

"She's kicking!" the redhead exclaimed with excitement, only looking towards Hershel for half a second and then grabbing one of his hands and placing it on top of the bump. "Here, do you feel her?"

Hershel narrowed his eyes in concentration, his hands nervously on Claire's stomach. Claire couldn't _not_ roll her eyes at his awkwardness, but she said nothing. Hershel pressed his right hand gently to the bump, when he suddenly felt something poke back at him. He jumped slightly and pulled his hand back, Claire giggling at his reaction.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Claire beamed brightly, her glasses reflecting the light from outside, giving her face a certain radiant glow.

"It is indeed," Hershel chuckled, nervously placing his hands back on the bump. It felt so strange, but so... Beautiful. There was another kick against the skin of Claire's stomach and a smile grew over Hershel's features.

Claire giggled as she felt the baby kick against her sides. It had been rather uncomfortable at first, but now, as she'd gotten used to it, she was beginning to realize how wonderful the feeling was. A little life, moving around inside of her. Claire couldn't take her hands away from her stomach, as she felt the weight of the unborn child inside of her, desperate to feel another movement. She wasn't worried, of course, but it was reassuring to know the baby was moving. As if she (or that was what Claire thought the baby was) was trying to say hello.

"I can't wait for her to arrive..." Claire murmured, her eyes still glued to the bump.

"What makes you think that baby's a girl? There's no way of telling, you know..." Another chuckle escaped Hershel's lips as he glanced up at the redhead.

"I just do..." Claire shrugged softly, her eyes flicking to meet Hershel's. "Just you wait, I'm telling you, she's a girl, all right."

"Well, it doesn't matter, really, does it?" Hershel pointed out, pecking Claire's cheek. "Eitherway, the baby will wonderful."

Claire giggled and winked at her sweetheart. "Of course they'll be," she said teasingly, "With us as parents, how could they not be anything _but_ wonderful?"

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 **AN: I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are appreciated. And as always, requests are great!**

 **Nikki~**


	4. Mustard, Apple Crumble and Rice Cakes

Mustard, Apple Crumble and Rice Cakes

5th May, 1948

"Hershel!" I called, from the living room, where I was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine labelled 'You and Your Baby' in big red writing, on the front,. "Hershel!"

"Yes, love?" my sweetheart shouted from where he was- the kitchen, hopefully, "Is everything okay?"

"The baby's hungry!" I replied, stroking the large bump, which not even my baggiest jumper could hide.

Over the past few months, I'd began to notice that pregnancy effected everything. I'd always known that hormones were triggered during the nine expecting months, but mood swings were only the beginning of my problems. To be honest, I wasn't experiencing as many sudden mood changes as other soon-to-be-mums did, the odd crabby moment, but I was too excited and panicky to have a sudden outburst. The other problems were a lot more... painful. Swollen feet and ankles, greasy hair, outbreaks of spots, getting fat- or as other people called it 'filling out' and that was only half of it. Everything seemed to ache and the only thing I ever wanted to do was sleep. I couldn't walk past the Chinese takeaway anymore, which was the place we got dinner from on Wednesdays, without wanting to vomit and I was finding myself needing the bathroom more than three times than what I was used to.

Though all these things were part of the experience, and every Mother went through it, I sometimes couldn't help but feel a but annoyed. Pregnancy was supposed to be a beautiful thing, but looking in the mirror- if I was able to stand up to look in one, that is- I didn't see anything beautiful (unless I tried to look beyond the bump and picture the baby. All I could see was a spotty, frumpy, fat student- who was frowned upon by society for having a child in this day and age, while still going through education and not married. I knew it would be worth it though; the strange looks as I walked through the street; the pain- which would only get worse; the way I looked. After all, in no more than six weeks (the baby was due in five weeks, but there's always the chance of being a week or so late) there would be a little, gorgeous baby in my arms. A little person, who would look to me and Hershel for guidance. It was such a responsibility, but such a privilege at the same time.

"You mean _you're_ hungry?" Hershel laughed, although I couldn't see him, I could picture his face: smiling to himself, his dark eyes glistening.

"Same thing," I told him, smirking- again, even though he wasn't able to see me.

"Very well, then, I'll fix you something," he chuckled.

"Brilliant,"I said to myself, then looked down at my bulging stomach," You're always hungry aren't you, little one?"

I received two kicks in reply. I chuckled softly, and stroked the patch where the baby was kicking and tried to imagine what he or she looked like. I'd had many dreams that the baby was a boy, but according to the magazine, dreaming that your baby is a specific sex usually means it was the opposite gender. Still though, I could only picture the baby as a boy. A bouncing baby boy. A mini-Hershel.

A few minutes later, Hershel came into the living room, carrying a china plate of... a ham and mayonnaise sandwich. The horrible odour filled my nostrils and I had to run to the toilet- well, limp quickly- so I could regurgitate whatever was left of my last snack.

"Claire?" Hershel asked, concerned, poking his head around the door," Are you alright?"

"Get that sandwich away!" I demanded, looking up with my face going red.

"Of course," he muttered, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.

I breathed deeply, then rolled over and fell onto the wall, my legs stretched out across the floor. _Don't let it bother you, Claire,_ I thought to myself, _It will all be wo_ rth it in the end.

"The sandwich has been disposed of," Hershel announced, popping his head around the bathroom door with a smile.

"Good," I smiled, "Can you help me up?"

"Most certainly," he replied, taking a firm grasp around my wrist and pulling me up, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said, with a grin, as I began to waddle back to the living room, "I'm still hungry though..."

"Of course, what would you like? Something that won't make you err..." Hershel was stuck for words; there was no polite word for 'sick'.

"Er..." I drifted off, racking my brain for things that I could eat. Strangely, my brain began to fit various different scents together until I found one that sounded perfect. "Mustard, apple crumble and rice cakes."

"What?" Hershel said, after a few seconds of strange looks- while I gave him a content one- and silence. "You want mustard, apple crumble and rice cakes?"

"No, I don't," I replied, shaking my head," The baby does."

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 **AN: Written from Claire's perspective because this is an old one. And I like exploring Claire's mothering thoughts.**

 **Reviewsand requests welcome!**

 **Nikki~**


	5. The Ladybird

**AN: Review replies!  
**

 **Chloemcg:** Thank you! Yeah, I totally wish Layton and Claire had a nice _longer_ life together. That's the reasons behind half my fanfics. I have updated this as soon as I could, but I went on holiday a few days last week and then was in work all weekend. But an update is here now- and it's a request from you too! :D

 **Abitat Eco:** Yeah, little one shots are sort of my things. :D Actually, the last three chapters of this were written a while ago and re-posted... :P Thanks my love!x

 **This was a request from Chloemcg:** Why not have the professor doing a father-daughter activity with baby Lilly?

 **Enjoy, guys! :)**

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The Ladybird

 _18th November 1950_

As Hershel was completing a full time professorship when Lillian was a child, Claire was usually the one who spent most of the free time they had with their daughter. She would either take her home and play with the puppets and teddies she'd gotten for her most recent birthday, or depending on the weather, she'd take her out to the park. They were on a very tight budget and so could only afford to do free activities. Secretly, Claire was glad; Lillian would grow up knowing how to have fun without money.

One of the downsides to having no money, however, was that the childcare for Lillian whilst Hershel and Claire were working was rather hard to pay. In order to try and reduce the nursery costs, Claire had taken Wednesdays off from work and worked Saturdays instead. Thus, Lillian did not have to go to nursery on Wednesdays, but Claire still earned the same amount as before and Hershel would look after the two year old on Saturdays. In fact, it was even more beneficial as this meant that Hershel had time alone with his daughter to bond with her.

One Saturday, Lillian had awoken as she heard the front door close as her Mother left for work. Unbeknownst to Lillian, Claire would always pop her head around her bedroom door and whisper a 'Have a good day, darling', but it had never once awoken her. Occasionally, though, Claire would notice Lillian smile in her sleep. But once Lillian was awake, she would sit up, rub her eyes and run into the living room.

In their small flat, the kitchen and living room may as well have been the same room. There was a wall by the corner of the main room, which the oven, sink and kitchen counter stood against, but there was no door to separate the two rooms; just a large gap where a wall and a door could have been. Every Saturday morning, when Lillian woke up, Hershel would already be up and making tea.

"Good morning, Lillian," He would beam as the toddler waddled towards him in the kitchen. "Ready for some breakfast, my dear?"

"Yesh!" She would exclaim excitedly, and point to whichever cereal she felt like in the morning.

Then after eating breakfast, Hershel would ask his daughter what she wanted to do that day.

"Park!" Lillian replied that Saturday morning.

It was very rare that the toddler would respond with no enthusiasm. Hershel and Claire seemed lucky to have a toddler who screamed and threw tantrums as little as possible; they seemed to have remarkably escaped the 'terrible twos' phase.

"You'd like to go to the park?" Hershel would paraphrase in response. Claire had told him about the importance of speaking to her in full sentences in order to build her vocabulary. It was rare that she strung more than four words together into a sentence, but at two and a half years old, that wasn't much of a concern.

"Yes please, Papa," Lillian nodded in response. After she'd been spoken to directly like she just had been, she usually responded in a slightly more structured sentence.

And so after Lillian was dressed and wrapped up warm in her coat- after all, it was a cold November morning- and then they left for the park.

-X-X-X-

"Was'at?" Lillian asked, pointing to a small insect as she stood at the top of the climbing frame. "Sa' bug?"

"You're right, yes. That is a bug," Hershel nodded with a smile, as he stood next to the opening of the climbing frame. It was a good four feet tall, which could result in a serious injury if Lillian did so much as take a wrong step. "That's a ladybird."

"Ladybird?" Lillian repeated with a curious expression, studying the small red insect carefully.

"Yes, well done," Hershel beamed. "Do you see the red with the black dots on it's body? That's it shell. It covers its wings to keep them safe."

"Wings?" Lillian asked. "No fly today..."

"It's not flying right now, no," Hershel shook his head, carefully placing his hand in front of the ladybird so it could walk onto his hand. "I think maybe its wing is broken. Shall we take it down to the trees so it can better?"

"Yesh!" Lillian nodded and carefully clambered down the wooden steps.

Hershel offered his other hand to the toddler and lead her across the grass to a bushy area that surrounded the park. It was a rather green area, which would be rather quaint and relaxing if not for the children's play area that sat in the middle of it.

Hershel crouched down to Lillian's height so she could see the crimson creature scurry off his hand and onto a thick and strong leaf of a bush. The tiny insect hurried off down the stem of the leaf and disappeared into the bush.

"Buh-bye, ladybird..."

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 **AN: I hope you enjoyed it, guys!**

 **Reviews are great and requests are more than welcome! :)**

 **Nikki~**


	6. Should I Offer My Congratulations?

**AN: Review replies!**

 **Chloemcg: Thanks very much! :) Lilly's birth name is Lillian but it changes to Lilly as she gets older. There is a chapter in this planned to explain it, and it's mentioned in this chapter, too.**

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Should I Offer My Congratulations?

 _12_ _th_ _October 1970_

"Here, I'll take that," Flora said, taking the dish of roasted potatoes out of Lilly's grasp, as soon as the brunette had emerged from the kitchen. "You don't want to over work yourself, do you? You should have asked me to have helped with the cooking."

Even though Lilly knew that Flora was only being kind, she couldn't help but frown for two reasons. The first being the idea of Flora's cooking being served at her dinner party. The second being the differential treatment Lilly had been receiving of late.

Once she'd stepped back into the kitchen and the door had swung shut behind her, she looked down at the bump in her stomach, underneath her violet dress. Until the past week, Lilly had been able to hide the protruding bump under puffy and frilly skirts, but now she had hit the final three months, it had become impossible to hide. Even more so because of this, many people, particularly relatives, were offering to carry things, seats on public transport, and were asking questions, mainly ones regarding her health, far too frequently. In fact, the only good thing to come out of it all so far was the priority for a seat on the bus. However, she had her own car these days.

The doorbell rung.

"I'll get it!" Flora called from behind the other side of the kitchen door.

Lilly shook her head slightly and left the kitchen, just in time to see her elder brother, Alfendi, enter the house with his wife, Lucy. She greeted them with a quick smile, and made her way over.

"Evening, dear brother," Lilly said with a hint of sarcasm, giving him a quick hug. He still repelled the idea of any intimacy with anyone, but his marriage to Lucy had certainly changed some of that, and he was warming to hugs with his younger sister. Or, at least was pretending to.

"Good evening, Lillian," Alfendi said, a hint of stiffness in his voice as always. Alfendi was the only person who called Lilly by her full name.

"Hey, Lil!" Lucy then pushed her way over to greet her sister in law. Ironically, Lucy was the only person to call Lilly Lil.

"Hi," Lilly smiled, giving Lucy a hug of her own before looking around them. "Where's Polly?"

Lilly was referring to her niece (Alfendi and Lucy's daughter, of course). She was three years of age, and had Alfendi's crimson hair, and an adorable smile that Lilly cherished. She frowned slightly and looked up at the couple, who exchanged a slight look.

"We... We didn't think you'd want children at your dinner..." Lucy frowned slightly. "I thought you wanted an evening with adults."

"I wanted this to be a _family_ occasion," Lilly pointed out, her voice dipping quietly. "It would be nice to not be the only one unable to consume alcohol, too."

Alfendi shook his head lightly, and tapped her shoulder. "It's alright. You know what alcohol does to... Well."

Lilly nodded slightly; she knew exactly what he meant. Or who he meant, rather.

"Of course," Lilly gave a small smile. "See yourselves to the living room. I can hear our Father's ridiculous car from a mile way."

Alfendi pricked his ears slightly, and a frown creased over his face, as he heard the rickety engine of the old Laytonmobile pull up in the driveway. Lilly and Alfendi's Father had purchased the car a little over twelve years ago, and it was old enough then. The two siblings were very curious to know how exactly the red car was passing its MOTs, and they were even more curious to know why their Father refused to replace it. It was just a car- and one that, by the sound of it, was rather dangerous to drive.

"You didn't tell me our Father was coming..." Alfendi said through gritted teeth.

With a wary expression on both the women, Lucy grabbed Alfendi's hand and pulled him towards the living room. Lilly heard her elder brother sigh and mutter something, but she didn't even want to hear what. She wasn't going to let a ridiculous family feud with no reason behind it ruin her evening.

"Play nicely!" Lilly called after him, just as the door bell rung again. She forced a smile on her face and opened the door. "Father!"

"Lilly...!" Professor Hershel Layton greeted his daughter with a beam, and quickly stepped in through the front door to hug her. "How are you doing, my dear?"

"I'm fine, of course," Lilly said with a chuckle, patting his back gently as they hugged. "Yourself."

"Perfectly fine, as always," The archaeologist replied, closing the door behind him.

"Good to hear," Lilly remarked and clapped her hands together. "Now, I've just got to get everything on the table. Everyone else is in the living room."

"Ah, yes. I'll make my way through there, then, shall I?" The Professor remarked.

Lilly gave a small nod. She knew she would be appearing to be rather controlling and bossy that evening, but she almost didn't care. Tonight, she needed to feel as if she were in control. And in a way, she was. After all, she'd been right in thinking that none of them would remember.

-X-X-X-

The four Laytons sat around Lilly's dinner table as they heard Lilly clank about in the kitchen, rather noisily- and perhaps rather clumsily. There was silence in the dining room, a rather tense one at that, too. There were far too many elephants in the room. Occasionally, Hershel would look up at Alfendi in the hope to make some eye contact with his estranged son, but the Inspector appeared to be far too interested in the ornaments that aligned his younger sister's mantelpiece; a bowl that was far too big to be an ash tray; a silver rose, a small clock, and an empty stone vase. In truth, Alfendi knew the stories behind the ornaments (Lilly really was a babbler when given the opportunity) and was just refusing to meet his Father's eye. Lucy, who didn't really understand the distance between the two, gave the Professor a smile. Flora, on the other hand, was frantically looking at the kitchen door every now and then wondering whether to help or not.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Lilly's voice came from in the kitchen, following a loud crash of what sounded to be china.

"Excuse me," The Professor said, as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen, to find his daughter leaning against the kitchen counter with a mix of emotions playing on her face. He looked down at the floor and saw that, indeed, a smashed china bowl lay scattered across the kitchen tiles. "You're just as stubbornly independent as your Mother, you know. Please, let me."

Lilly gave a small smile, and for once, didn't retaliate. She'd already tried to get down to the floor to clean up the mess, but with the bump in front of her, she found it impossible.

"Am I?" Lilly asked, as her Father brushed up the china shards from the floor.

"Certainly," He confirmed. "In fact, I can remember a situation very similar to this. Only your Mother broke the neighbours fish bowl, which she was supposed to look after while they were away. You were born two weeks later, she really should have asked me to do it."

"I'm perfectly capable of hosting a dinner party for my family," Lilly protested, as she pulled out a rubbish bag for the broken china.

The Professor smirked slightly.

"The broken china suggests otherwise..." There was some mischievousness in the Professor's voice. As he had gotten older, not only had his hair begun to go slightly grey under his top hat, but he'd become slightly cheeky, too.

Lilly shook her head in annoyance, but she couldn't help but smile eitherway.

"Yes, well. It was right at the back of the top cupboard. We haven't used it in a while," The brunette shrugged. "It was right at the back. I couldn't quite get it..."

"No one would have minded if you asked for some assistance," Hershel pointed out, as he emptied the dustpan into the bin. "Flora's practically been jumping out of her seat all evening to help you."

"And it's completely unnecessary. Until now, it's all been running smoothly," Lilly pointed out.

"If you say so, dear."

-X-X-X-

"Did Flora tell you that Luke's coming back to England in December, Lilly?"

It was twenty minutes later, and the dinner had finally begun. The food was on the table, and was now being served onto plates. Lilly never was quite sure what sort of food to make in situations like these, and so had made a range of foods, including lasagna, risotto and casserole; there was enough to feed twenty people, and there was only five.

"No, she didn't mention it," Lilly said, glancing at her younger sister. She found it rather strange that Flora hadn't, to be truthful. Flora, who more or less lived with her, was most definitely the talkative one of the two. She'd moved in about four months ago, when both of the women realised that neither were good at living alone; Flora because it reminded her of being in the tower, and Lilly because it reminded her of someone else. Lilly charged no rent on Flora, who was currently a literature student at Gressenheller, however requested her assistance in the shop she owned every now and then, instead.

Flora shrugged slightly, but before she could say anything, Lilly nodded and smiled gratefully. She knew why Flora hadn't told her, and although it wasn't necessary, it was a polite and thoughtful gesture.

"I thought he'd just began University in France?" Lilly questioned, a quizzical expression on her face.

"He managed to transfer," The Professor replied. "Veterinary science, he's doing. He wants to be a vet."

"Not an archaeologist?" Lilly teased. "Well, I suppose you were his mentor in being a gentleman, not archaeology, am I right?"

"I suppose so," The Professor said with a chuckle. "And, speaking of people coming back, have you heard from...?"

Lilly shook her head gently, as she dished up the last of the risotto onto her plate (that had proved most popular).

"No... I was told not to expect any communication," Lilly replied with a faint smile.

"What? None a'tall?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know where he is or what he's doing or even his condition," Lilly shook her head. "I will be notified in the case of his death, so really it's a good thing I've heard nothing as of yet."

There was then another round of silence in the room after this. No one knew what to say. It was clear after that to Lilly that no one had remembered. She supposed she was glad, after all, she didn't want to talk about what today was really about. Neither did she want to be alone that night. What she wanted was a fun, energetic family dinner. But it didn't appear that she would get that.

"How's the shop going, Lillian?" Alfendi asked.

Lilly gave him a quick smile before she replied. Her brother may not have exactly been good with emotions, but he understood situations well. The look in his eye that she saw as she smiled at him made her wonder if he had remembered what today was. Either way, she was thankful.

-X-X-X-

Once the dinner had finished, everyone insisted on clearing up in order to give Lilly a "well deserved break". Besides, she had never been one for tidying. Instead, she had sat down on the settee in the living room, and had picked up her knitting needles and turned the radio on.

"I thought you said the shop's going well?" Alfendi said as he walked into the living room and sat beside his sister. "Can't you take a day off, then?"

Lilly looked across at him and slightly frowned. "Are you not helping with clearing up?"

"No, I've never been a tidy person- you know that," Alfendi shrugged lightly.

Lilly chuckled gently, her needles clicking around the yellow thread.

"Oh, and this isn't for the shop," Lilly replied. "I'm making a blanket. For the baby."

"Ah," Alfendi nodded. "Yes, Lucy tried knitting when she- err- we were expecting Polly. She got rather frustrated and threatened to stab me with the needles unless I made her a mayonnaise and chocolate spread sandwich."

Lilly laughed rather loudly at this; so much so she had to put her knitting to one side. That certainly did sound like her sister in law. Lucy did have a rather fiesty imagination, and so it was likely that during her pregnancy with Polly, that would have been enhanced. She could imagine the situation rather vividly, and only laughed harder at the thought. Alfendi shook his head in response to his sister's laughter.

"Really, it wasn't that funny. Not if you were there, anyhow," Alfendi shook his head. "Anyhow, I wanted to ask, why did you seem to want Polly here tonight so badly?"

Lilly shrugged and placed down her needles by her side, draping her arms around the bulge in her stomach defensively.

"I suppose because it's been rather hard recently," Lilly said. "I hoped seeing Polly would remind how it will all be worth it soon. Well, almost..."

"You miss him..." Alfendi finished with a nod. He never was sure about the thoughts of people's hearts, but some were obvious. Especially when it regarded his sister. "About tonight... I wasn't sure. Should I offer my congratulations?"

Lilly paused for a moment. She was going to shake her head, and then she wondered if she wanted to nod and say yes. And so, she didn't respond to his question.

"You remembered..." Lilly said simply, not being able to stop herself from smiling.

"Don't take it to the heart. I have an extremely good memory," Alfendi dismissed. "Yes, it's your first wedding anniversary."

"Yes. I can't believe it," Lilly nodded. "I can't believe we were married a year ago and I can't believe he left six months ago."

"Perhaps if you contacted someone in the government...?" Alfendi began to suggest, but was cut off by Lilly's shaking.

"No, that wouldn't do. They owe me nothing- I'm a criminal, too, remember," Lilly pointed out. "Besides, they give me money. Compensation, they call it. It's money to bribe me. Keep me quiet."

Alfendi paused for a moment. He really was no good at all in situations in like this.

"He'll be back soon, Lilly," He said in the end. "You'll see."

It wasn't until much later that evening, when Lilly was going to bed, when she realised that he'd called her Lilly.

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for reading!**

 **This chapter was written for three reasons.**

 **1- A taste of Lilly's adult life**

 **2- To add a bit of mystery to this fic (all will be revealed in future chapters)**

 **3- To help me get better at writing Alfendi and to create more of a relationship between Lilly and Alfendi (because I seriously think they'd have a great one)**

 **Also, if you aren't already, give my fanfic Spectrum a try! It's also about Lilly and may make some parts of this fic make a bit more sense (obviously I'll explain them as best as I can for those who don't but it may help)!**

 **A review would be great!**

 **Requests are welcome, as always!**

 **Nikki~**


	7. Godbrother?

**AN: Review replies!**

 **Engishtiger:** Thank you! :D Yeah, cause this fic is not in chronological order, I took advantage of that and put bits of mystery in. :P And of course there will be chapters with Lilly and her husband soon enough. (I'd just like to finish Spectrum first).

 **Chloemcg:** Thank you very much! This chapter is Lilly meeting Luke for the first time, but I have added an older Luke chapter to my list. :) However, I have not played Professor Layton Vs Ace Attorney. :(

 **Hugsrgood45:** Thank you! I can't wait to write Claire and Lilly bonding and there are several of those on my list. If you want more, you can get snippet memories of young Lilly and Claire in my story Spectrum. :)

 **Thanks, guys! Enjoy this one! :)**

* * *

Godbrother?

 _20th March, 1953_

Lillian ran out of the school building with a bright smile on her face. She always was so glad to get out and get home everyday. Claire giggled as her four year old daughter ran over to her, wrapping her arms around her legs and squeezing ahold tightly. Every day Claire picked her daughter up from school, she did the exact same thing, but Claire never tired from it. She knew well that her daughter wasn't particularly fond of school (in fact, she probably hated it more than the average child) but she was sure she would grow out of it soon enough. After all, she was only in her first year.

With a chuckle, Claire unpeeled Lillian from her legs and scooped her up.

"Hello, Missis," Claire greeted. "Have a good day at school?"

"S'okay," the four year old shrugged, then her face lit up with excitement. "Are we going to the park now? It's Friday. We go to the park on Friday's, always, don't we, Mama?"

"Normally, we do, yes," Claire replied, placing Lillian's school rucksack over her free shoulder, and walking towards the school gates with Lillian still on her waist. "But today we've got something else planned."

"Eh? No park..." Lillian frowned, as she was placed on the ground and her hand was taken. Claire always carried her school bag, afraid Lillian would drop it (whether it be accidental or deliberate) otherwise. "Where then?"

Claire chuckled. "You'll have to wait and see."

Lillian frowned slightly. In her experiences, surprises never had worked out well- with the exception of birthday presents, of course.

The four year old followed her Mother with anticipation, and frowned slightly when they arrived and stopped at the nearest bus stop. As her father had a car, it was rare that they used public transport, unless the car was away in service. Occasionally, when her Father was out working, and so using the car, and Lillian and Claire were having a day to themselves, where perhaps they'd go a bit further out than Gressenheller, or to the shops to get the weekly shopping in, they would take the bus. But shopping on a Friday? It was Sunday they always went shopping. Just where were they off to?

"Mama..." Lillian began. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise!" Claire said again, chuckling again at her daughter's eagerness. "You'll see when we get there?"

"But where's there?" Lillian persisted, earning her another laugh from her Mother. That only made her more frustrated.

In an attempt to distract her, Claire went on to ask her about her day at school. She was glad to hear some excitement in her voice, which was rare when she spoke about her days at school. Happily, Lillian told her Mother about a game of tag at break time, followed by a game of hide and seek at lunch time, which resulted in another pupil named James remaining behind a bush after the bell had went. He'd been sent to the Principal's office. Claire was glad that such a disciplinary move had never been made on Lillian's behalf, however their had been calls in the past made to her and her husband, from the school, describing Lillian's struggles in maths. Most of the other children had caught on with adding and subtracting ten at a time by this point in the year. Hershel and Claire had both tried to go through it with her at home, but it was hard to get through to her. It wasn't that she lacked intellect, she just wasn't interested. She was much happier doing something creative; painting, sticking or reading stories.

Lillian then spoke of her art time that day and told her that there was a collage of a sheep in a field inside her school bag. She'd used cotton wool for the sheep's body, and green and blue tissue paper for the scenery. Claire said she'd have a look when they got home; she didn't want to damage the piece of artwork in the cold air.

That was when their bus finally came.

"One adult and and under five to Gressenheller Hospital, please," Claire said to the driver, dropping him the change.

"'Ospital?" Lillian questioned, following her Mother to their seat on the bus, suddenlya appearing rather anxious. "I'm not going to go there and made asleep again am I?"

Lillian was referring to the removal of her tonsils that had occurred shortly after Christmas. Although she'd been given more ice cream than she'd ever seen before, it still made her feel sick to think of the experience.

"No, no, darling," Claire shook her head. "We're going to the hospital to visit someone."

"B-but hospital's are for sick or hurt people!" Lillian gasped. "Who's poorly?"

"No one!" Claire replied. "The person- people- we're going to visit are perfectly healthy. Now, we'll meet them soon enough. Papa will meet us there after work, too."

"So why are they in 'ospital if they're not poorly?" Lillian, who was now rather confused, exclaimed.

"Just wait and see!" Claire replied, giving Lillian a small bop on her nose to keep her quiet.

-X-X-X-

"Mat... Uh... Umm?" Lillian frowned, glancing at the sign above the door.

They'd made their way into the hospital and were now on the fourth floor, entering the ward to the left hand side ward at the top of the stairs. Lillian had wanted to take the elevator, but Claire had insisted on taking the stairs as, in a hospital, there would be those who may not be able to take the stairs, and so the elevator should be left to them.

"Mat-er-ni-ty ward," Claire corrected, sounding out each syllable, so she could visualise the word a bit more. Ever since she'd started school, Claire had read all the books available at the local library on things to do to increase Lillian's learning potential.

"Was'at mean?" Lillian questioned.

"It's one of the wards hospitals have," Claire explained. "It's the ward woman go to when their babies are born." Claire turned to the receptionist. "Hello, I'm looking for Brenda Triton."

"Auntie Brenda?!" Lillian suddenly gasped, rather loudly, as she fit the puzzle pieces together. "Auntie Brenda's got the baby now?"

"Hush, darling," Claire patted Lillian on the back, giving an apologetic look back at the disapproving receptionist. Claire found her receptionist's reaction rather ironic, surely she heard screaming children all day long?

"Room 11," The receptionist replied after looking down at the clipboard.

"Thank you," Claire nodded her head in thanks and ushered Lillian away to the room with her. "There's lots of babies around here, Lillian, so we have to be quiet, okay?"

"Okay..." Lillian replied in a whisper. "But is Auntie Brenda here with her baby now?"

"She is," Claire nodded, knocking gently on the ward numbered 'eleven' before going in. "Come on, in we go."

Lillian glanced around the room, soon noticing a woman, who was indeed her Auntie Brenda, in a bed, with a thick bundle of blankets in her arms. A bright, excited smile soon appeared on the little girl's face, and she ran forward with energy.

"Auntie Brenda!" Lillian cried, running forward and bouncing onto the bed.

"Hey...! Oh, careful, sweetie!" Brenda's arms instinctively held onto the bundle tighter, in defence from the jumping little girl. She knew that one day they'd be running around together, but not quiet yet.

"Lillian!" Claire scolded, coming over and scooping Lillian up. "You need to be careful..."

"Sorry..."

Brenda chuckled. "It's alright, it's very exciting, isn't it? I'm excited, too!"

"Congratulations, Brenda," Claire quickly said, as soon as she got the chance to say so. "Are you alright?"

"Ah, it was a piece of cake," Brenda dismissed. "Don't know why you made such a fuss about it when you had this one." Brenda poked Lillian's leg that dangled down from where Claire held her.

"Was I born in the hospital, too, Mama?" Lillian asked.

"Actually, nope," Claire shook her head, taking a seat on the plastic chair by the bed. "You came far too quick, I didn't have time. The nurse had to come to our home."

Brenda chuckled, and caught Claire throw her a wink. Brenda knew the true story very well; in fact, she'd been there for her Goddaughter's birth. Brenda hadn't offered anyone the chance to be her child's god parents, and had decided with Clark that it was best not to. Claire knew this and took no offence. They'd asked the Triton's to be Lillian's godparents because they knew they'd love her as much as they could- not because they were looking for someone to be god parents to.

"Would you like to meet Little Luke, then Lillian?" Brenda offered. "Come on you two, sit down here and come say hello!"

With a smile, Claire gently sat down beside Brenda, on the edge of her bed, placing Lillian on her lap.

"Here we go, this is Luke Triton," Brenda untucked the thick white and blue blankets from the infant's face- that had been turned into her chest- so the two Layton's could see. Through the blankets, only the small head of the new Triton was able to be seen... But it was cute enough just like that. Lillian couldn't help but giggle childishly as she looked at his tiny face, with his button nose, little pink mouth, and long eyelashes that curled out from his close eyes.

"He's sleeping!" Lillian giggled. "Sleepy baby Luke!"

"He is sleeping," Brenda replied. "He's all very tired, and has to sleep so he can grow. But he's still very happy to meet you, sweetie."

"Because you're my Auntie, does that mean Luke's my cousin?" Lillian asked, her eyes not leaving Luke's tiny face.

"Hmm, not quite," Brenda shook her head.

"An Auntie is normally your parents' brother and sisters, Lillian," Claire explained. "Remember, because neither me or Papa have any brothers or sisters, you have Uncle Clark and Auntie Brenda- you're godparents. Anyway, speaking of Clark where is he? And has Hershel gotten here yet, he said he'd meet us here."

"Oh, they went off to wet the baby's head. By drinking tea," Brenda scoffed. "They've probably gone further than the hospital canteen. Clark can't stand hospitals."

"Oh, typical men," Claire rolled her eyes with a giggle. "That's why it's gotta be us girls who do the dirty work."

Brenda chuckled. She couldn't agree more.

"So! Auntie Brenda, if you're my Godmother, does that mean Sleepy Baby Luke is my godbrother?" Lillian suddenly perked up, her mind running wild as she watched the baby boy with wide eyes, fascinated and in awe.

"Hmm, it doesn't quite work like that, darling," Claire chuckled.

"But he has to be something to me!" Lillian frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

Claire shook her head gently and glanced over at Brenda, giving her a look as if to say: "you've got all this to look forward to".

"You're right, Lillian," Brenda said with a nod. "He has, hasn't he? Tell you what, Luke can be your godbrother. We can make that a new trend, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Lillian giggled. "Hello, Little Sleepy Luke, I'm your godsister, Lillian. And when you're all big we can have lots of fun and play hide and seek and..."

Claire shook her head, chuckling slightly. Brenda looked over at the redhead and shrugged.

"I'm her Godmother; it's my job to keep her happy."

"I didn't say otherwise," Claire replied, her hands now playing with Lillian's hair, and beginning to plait it. It also worked to keep her a safe distance for Luke. She meant no harm, but she got so over excited sometimes. It was her age. "But you've got another job now, too. And I'll let you in on a secret, it's the best job there is."

* * *

 **AN: I absolutely loved writing this one. Not only baby Luke, but I can't help but think Lilly and Brenda, and Claire and Brenda would have all great relationships. Obviously, I love writing Claire/Lilly/Mum/Daughter stuff, too!**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **I am most grateful for reviews, and if you have an idea you are more than welcome to share! :)**

 **Nikki~**


	8. Lead A Good Life

**AN: Review replies!**

 **Chloemcg:** Whoops! You ended up reviewing twice. Haha! Though that works in my favour! :P Thanks very much, and I really want to play PL vs AA, but I haven't even played Azran Legacies yet! I have added the request to my list! :)

 **Englishtiger:** Thanks very much! Yes, Brenda and Claire would have been great! ;)

* * *

Lead A Good Life

 _20th February, 1966_

Due to the recent catastrophe that had hit London, very few services in central London were running efficiently. Schools had been shut until further notice, libraries and shops had closed due to grieving families or destruction or property, and no one had received a single letter since, what was being publicised as 'The Dove Attack' had occurred. This had caused many problems. For instance, bills were unable to be paid, people could not contact their family outside of London to tell them they were unharmed (or, the unfortunate alternative) and the lack of replies meant that those outside of London were incredibly worried.

When the post finally resumed, in the middle of February, Flora jumped, as she heard what sounded like piles of envelopes flutter and fall through the letter box in the front door. The Professor, who was standing by the stove brewing a second pot of tea, turned around at the sound. Being surprised and flinching was not in his habit. Lilly, who sat at the breakfast table staring towards the kitchen window that sat above the sink. Ever since the attack, Lilly had very little to say. She still believed that she was to blame for it all.

"Was that the post?" The Professor wondered aloud, making his way over to the front door, and indeed returning with at least 20 filled envelopes. "My, no wonder it took such a long time for the postal services to return to normal. All these letters must have taken a while to process." The Professor remarked, as he looked at each of the postal marks and addresses.

"Well, at least it's back to normal now," Flora commented, as she finished her plate of toast.

"Indeed," The Professor agreed, as he carried on fishing through all the letters, before placing one in front of Lilly. "Oh, Lilly, here's one addressed to you."

A moment later (the seventeen year old was often dazed and distracted by her own thoughts of guilt and regret) she glanced down at the letter and studied the address.

 _Miss Lillian M Layton_

 _27a Broadstone Church Avenue_

 _Gressenheller_

 _London_

Lilly was first shocked by the name. Lillian. Even though it was her birth name, no one ever used it. Apart from official forms, she never even used it. The recent attack on London had somehow been publicised in her favour, and although she had nothing to do with the attack, she had still been an accomplice in the abduction of the Prime Minister; treason. Yet, after what Clive Dove had done, Lilly had been given no charge and the media had even painted her as another one of the victims of the entire affair. (This bared on reassurance on her own behalf; she still believed to death that she was guilty.) But still, she was now known across England for being involved, and she expected many to blame her. She was expecting a threat of some sort to be inside the envelope. She wouldn't have read it, unless she felt like she deserved the threat and hatred, which she indeed did believe.

"Excuse me," Lilly said quickly, picking up the letter and making her way to her bedroom hastily.

Once in her darkened room- she hadn't opened the curtains since she'd returned- she sat down at her desk and ripped open the envelope. Unlike her Father, she did not own a letter opener, and didn't see the point.

She unfolded the paper and read.

 _To my lovely daughter,_

 _I expect this letter to surprise you, but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't. I've made myself a deal, you see. I have seen you twice now, but neglected to do more than smile at you because I did not want to cause you anymore pain. It's now occurring to me that perhaps you need me to come and reassure you that now you've grown up. However, I am also wondering whether I am telling myself that because of my own selfish reasons, because I want to see you again, one last time. Either way, I have promised myself that if fate has us cross paths again, I shall come and talk to you. In the case that I do not do so, I have willed myself to write you this letter, because really, we never did quite get the goodbye we should have, did we?_

 _I'm not quite sure where to begin. I know that you know you are loved from what I've seen of you in these few last moments, and that makes me glad. It means I know that I've done my job, it means I loved you hard enough. Despite what you may think, I do not find myself angry with you for your actions now. I do not condone it of course, but what you have done was out of love and it is very hard to go against your own heart, even if you know what you are doing is wrong. As such, I find myself reassured and comforted to know that what you did was for me. If by the time this letter reaches you, the Future London is still continuing, I must ask that you stop it, for me. You are more than capable to do so._

 _Despite everything that has happened, I still think I am the luckiest woman in the world, and perhaps it is selfish and greedy of me to ask for more. Getting to love you and raise you was the most beautiful thing anyone could ever be blessed with. I don't know if you ever knew this, but before I woke you up in the morning for school, I would go in to your bedroom and watch you sleep. I would wait until seven before I got you up, and would set my alarm for fifteen minutes before, but those fifteen minutes were never enough. You are always on my mind, and I promise that my last moment will be spent thinking about you._

 _I'm also lucky because I got to come back, even though it's only for a short while, I have had enough time to see you and see what a strong, amazing and stunning lady you have grown to be. Your Father has raised you so well, that I could not be happier nor prouder. Speaking of your Father, I've been reading up on what he's been up after I left, and I'm most certainly impressed. What an exciting life you two have lead. I know for a fact, without having to see anymore of the future, that the rest of your life will be just as exciting and fulfilling. I wouldn't expect anything less from my own daughter._

 _And so now, I will bid you a farewell filled with love, and let you lead a good life._

 _Goodbye, my darling._

-X-X-X-

Half an hour later, the Professor gently knocked on Lilly's door. He hadn't heard a peep from her since she'd left to read her letter, and was growing worried.

"Lilly..." The Professor called into the room, before carefully opening the door. He saw her across the room, sitting at her desk, her back hunched over, her hand to her face and her shoulders heaving with the sound of sobs. "Oh, my dear... What ever is wrong?"

He stood behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder and she turned to face her. She was indeed crying, and rather heavily at that, too... However, there was a smile on her face.

"Nothing," Lilly replied. "Everything is all good now."

* * *

 **AN: I know this one was a little angsty, but as my other Lilly story, Spectrum, is on HIATUS for a while (until I find where the hell Lost Future got to) I wanted to write something Lost Future related for this chapter. And you can't do that without being angsty, or revealing spoilers for Spectrum.**

 **Even so, I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews make my day! :)**

 **Nikki~**


	9. Your Mother's Favourite Flowers

**AN: First of all, I'm really sorry I haven't updated in like 4 months. Turns out being a student, living away from home, and studying for diplomas are hard. Well, harder than I thought it'd be.**

 **Second of all, I'm sorry this chapter is so angsty, when the last one was, too. I promise the next one will be happy.**

* * *

Your Mother's Favourite Flower

 _28th January 1958_

"Come on, then, dear," Professor Layton said, taking his daughter's hand as the bus came to a stop outside Frindley Park. "This is our stop."

The Professor stumbled off the bus with one hand grasping a bouquet of white flowers, and his other wrapped around his daughter's small fingers, as she bounced down the steps and onto the pavement. The bus drove off with a screech as it hit the ice and a puff of smoke from the exhaust pipe.

Lillian looked up at the big, steel gates of the park and analysed the swirly patterns along the top of the gate and then began to copy the pattern into the snow with her foot.

"Lillian..." The Professor chuckled, giving her hand a small shake. "Come on, how about you show the pattern to your Mother?"

"Mhmm," the young girl nodded, before pointing to the right path inside the park. "This way?"

"Yes, that's where she is," The Professor nodded. "Good remembering, Lillian. You'll be able to coe and visit Mama by yourself soon."

"Could I?" Lillian asked, her brow furrowing. "What and take the bus by myself and everything?"

"You certainly can soon," the Professor nodded, withholding a sigh. She was growing fast and learning more and more every day, it seemed. It was wonderful to watch her grow up, but it saddened him to remember that he was watching her grow alone. The small child was becoming more and more creative as the days went by, and Claire was always so thrilled to see her draw and paint. A year ago, Lillian was knitting a scarf for Claire to wear, with help from her Nana Marie.

"But... I can never find Mama here..." Lillian said, as they turned up the next pathway, to the place of resting. "There's so many beds here."

"There are," Hershel nodded. "But remember, last time we came. On Christmas Eve? It was next to that big oak tree."

"Oh..." Lillian thought for a second, glancing around the graveyard. It had snowed heavily this year. Even heavier than last year, although Lillian couldn't remember the snow last year; only the cold. The headstones were blanketed in a thick ribbon of snow. Last time, Lilly had found the quiet echo of the snow to be rather frightening, but now she found it to be nice and pretty. The cold winter had of course meant that no flowers could grown, and so the violets and daffodils that Lillian could remember from her Summer visits were gone, however the snow was rather sparkly. Lillian knew her Mother would be happy to sleep here.

Looking up, she could see some branches peeking out from the Church. She gasped and let go off her Father's hand.

"Over here!" She called to him, her feet padding through the snow and round the corner of the Church. Lillian stopped by the tree. "Here, Papa!"

 _Claire Marie Layton_

 _16th September 1925_

 _to_

 _28th January 1957_

 _A loving woman, wife and Mother_

 _Until We Meet Again_

"Hello, Mama. It's me- Lillian!" The nine year old greeted, with a smile. She bounced on her feet. In the Summer, she'd sit on the grass next to her Mother and make daisy chains to decorate her grave.

Hershel turned the corner and couldn't help but feel rather happy to see his daughter smile. He was so proud of her strength. He had his suspicions that he wouldn't be able to smile himself if it weren't for her.

"Hello, dear," Hershel said quietly, patting the side of the gravestone with his gloved hand.

"I hope you're not too cold with all this snow, Mama," Lillian went on. "I've got two pairs of gloves on I'm so cold!"

Hershel chuckled slightly, reaching into the bouquet and taking out a flower and laying it down on the bed.

"Would you like to put down a flower for Mama, Lillian?" Hershel suggested, offering his daughter one of the white flowers. They matched the snow! Lillian thought.

"Yes, please," Lillian said, taking the flower and placing it down next to the flower her Father had put down. "They're pretty flowers, aren't they, Mama? I hope you like them."

"Oh, she most certainly does, dear," The Professor nodded. "Lilies are your Mother's favourite flowers."

"Lilies? They sound like my name..." Lillian observed.

"Yes, of course," Hershel chuckled. "You're named Lillian after the flower lily. Did you not know that?"

"No..." Lillian shook her head. "But why am I not called Lily if they were Mama's favourites. Why just something that sounds like them?"

"Well, if I'm honest, I much preferred Lillian..."

"I prefer Lily."

"Uh, well..."

"It's much nicer, isn't it, Mama?" Lillian, or Lilly, nodded.

"Well..." The Professor shook his head. She really was growing up. "Well, I suppose you can be Lilly if you prefer it. It's your name, after all."

Lilly chuckled, feeling rather smitten, and reached out her hand for another lily flower.

"It is rather cold out here, I don't think these flowers will last long out here," the Professor said. "How about we take these home and put them on the table. Mama used to do that a lot of the time. We can go and think of her at home, yes?"

"Yes, we can put them by Mama's old seat!" Lilly suggested.

"We certainly can," Hershel nodded, holding out his hand to her. "Come on, then, Lillian- err- Lilly."

Lilly gave him a grin, and then took a step closer to her Mother.

"See you soon, Mama," Lilly then leant in close and whispered: "I think Lilly's a much better name. It's pretty. Like the flower."

* * *

 **AN: A short and rather basic chapter, but I'm tired and not sure if I'm looking forward to going back to classes. A true writer would work harder at this than me. Unfortunately, I am not a true writer.**

 **But FUN FACT: Lilies are also flowers of death! And that's originally why I called Lilly, Lilly. Only with a different spelling (two l's) because it's an abbreviated name.**

 **Feel free to request any chapters if you have an idea!**

 **Nikki~**


	10. How Is It I'm The Younger Sibling?

**AN: Yesihaven'tupdatedinforeverbutnooneseemstobereadingsowhatever.**

 **This was inspired by a recent conversation with my eldest brother, who's wife is currently expecting there second child. Plus, I wanted to write some more Alfendi and Lilly cause I find them hilarious together.**

* * *

 **Lillyesque**

How am I the Younger Sibling?

 _16 September 1967_

"This day was supposed to be about me, you do realise that don't you?" Lilly said, folding her arms and propping herself up on the table. She stared at her brother with a slight frown, however she was finding the situation rather hilarious, but she refused to show it. After all, she knew better than to encourage him.

"Was it?" Alfendi jumped up in a slight frenzy. "It's your birthday, isn't it? You're twenty-one today, yes, of course! Yes, I know. You had your twentieth last, didn't you? You had the dinner in June. Wait, no, your birthday is June. It's September. It's not your birthday."

"No, you're very well correct there, my birthday is indeed June. Dare I ask whether you know the date of my birthday?" Lilly questioned, slightly put off.

"Of course I know the date of your birthday, my dear sister," Alfendi responded with a nod.

"Then what date is my birthday, dear brother?"

"June the twenty..." By observing his sister's face, Alfendi could clearly see that Lilly's birthday did not range from the twentieth to the twenty-ninth of June. "The s..." Nope. Not the second, sixth, seventh, sixteenth or seventeenth. "... The th..." Yes! "The first... Thir... Four... Fifth...? Fifth!"

Lilly gave a remarkable sigh.

"I think we better order some wine," Lilly muttered, before reaching over to the drinks menu and looking down the list of wines which would have a high enough alcohol content to get her through a lunch outing with her brother, but would not cost her a week's rent.

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay," Alfendi waved. He wasn't a mind reader, but he knew his sister was struggling, what with just enrolling in business school, and the like. She was working part time as a seamstress but she was unable to complete many hours and on top of that, the pay was awful.

"Shouldn't you be saving? Getting ready for PJ and all?" Lilly teased.

Alfendi grimaced.

"If you weren't my sister, I'd have you framed you for murder, thrown into the jails and then I would melt the key into a necklace and sell it on the black market," Alfendi told his sister, with a rather serious expression.

Lilly blinked.

"I worry about you sometimes," Lilly shook her head.

"Right to do so, if I'm honest. Now..." Alfendi said, suddenly must more chirpier, as he took delight in leaning right back in his chair and stretching his back and all four of his limbs. "If it's not your birthday, then why is today about you?"

"It's the sixteenth of September. My Mother's birthday," Lilly explained, seemingly offended that she ahd to remind him in the first place.

"Your Mother? The woman's been dead for ten and a half years like my folk..." Alfendi was interrupted by a piercing glare. He quickly stopped himself and wished that Lucy were around to make sure what he said was in line. He hated sensitive situations like these. He cleared his throat. "Oh... I'm- err- sorry, Lillian. How old would she have been?"

"Not that you ever ask a lady her age, but she would have been forty two today, Alfendi," Lilly shook her head.

"And, do you wish to talk about it?" Alfendi offered. It was quite a generous offer coming from him, too.

"No, I wish to do the complete opposite and talk nothing of my Mother whatsoever!"

"In which case, can't I speak to you of my troubles?" Alfendi queried. "You know, as I just were before you insisted on making today about yourself?"

"Fine..." Lilly replied after a pause of no less than three seconds. "But you're not to say a word until the food is here, I'm possibly famished and may snap if I don't eat lunch soon."

"Certainly, what are you thinking of ordering? They have a delightful kids meal-"

Another glare was short in his direction.

-X-X-X-

No more than half an hour later and the two were eating. Alfendi had a chicken carbonara. Lilly had spaghetti with a green type of sauce, which confused Alfendi greatly. They also had a plate of garlic bread to share.

"Why did we have to come for an Italian?" Alfendi moaned.

"Because it's my favourite and it's my day," Lilly replied, before taking a large sip of her wine. She needed it.

Alfendi sighed and twirled the spaghetti around his fork again, and again, and again.

"Alfendi..." Lilly hesitated. "We are eating now. You can talk, if you wish."

His face lit up like a lightbulb and his mouth sprang into action like an olympic sprinter.

"Right, well, the thing is, Lillian, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do. I mean..." Alfendi lowered his voice, as if he was scared of someone overhearing what he was about to say. He leant in close to Lillian, nearly knocking his wine over in the process. "I've never even held an infant before. How will I be able to take care of one of my own?"

Lilly smiled. Her smile spread, right up into the corner's of her face, and right up to her eyes, which teared up, as she began to laugh so hard, that Alfendi feared she would laugh herself into a premature death.

"What's funny?" Alfendi sulked.

"Oh, my dear brother, believe me, it's much easier than it looks," Lilly said as her chuckles subsided and she wiped a tear away from her right eye. "Honestly, several of my friend's have children, and they've all said that you pick it up in no time! Granted you become tired all the time and it becomes nearly impossible to keep an organised and tidy household..."

"You're not helping, Lillian," Alfendi quickly interrupted. He couldn't bear to hear another word. "No sugar coating, but no horrible truths. But... Advise. What do I do, Lillian? Lucy is due to deliver in a week, and how... How do I... How do I parent?"

"Why on earth are you asking me?" Lilly questioned, her brow furrowing. "I have no children."

"But you're a woman. An engaged woman."

Lilly ignored the fact that Alfendi calling her a woman was most possibly the nicest thing he'd ever said to her, and lowered her silverware.

"Alfendi, I am engaged to a man who is being forced to work abroad in terrifying situations in order to pay for what he did to London. I have no idea when he will return, and I also have no idea if he will ever return. So, I have no immediate plans on the mothering front myself. I can offer no advise."

Alfendi quickly sensed that in addition to the dead mother's birthday situation, he should also be silent on the estranged fiancé situation. There were too many elephants in the room and Alfendi was so on edge, it was hard not to want to provoke others.

"Anything can help, Lillian," Alfendi said, after a long pause, and in a much kinder tone. "Honestly, I am... I am very uncertain on what to expect. You said it yourself. You have friends with children. You have more experience than me. Surely there's something you must be able to advise me on."

Lilly gave a small smile.

"Honestly, how is it that I am the younger sibling?" Lilly joked to herself.

"You aren't. Not mentally."

He seemed to mean it, and Lilly almost blushed. Almost. Not quite. There's no way she could ever give him the pleasure of letting him know that he had embarrassed her.

"Look, all I can say is not to worry. Things will work themselves out in time, and you are a fast learner! You always have been," Lilly smiled gently. "Anyway, Lucy will be there too. And she's had an awful lot of experience with children."

"No, she hasn't," Alfendi shook his head. "She's had just as little as me."

"I wouldn't say that's true. I mean, look at the man she's married!"

"But she's married to me... Oh."

* * *

 **AN: Obviously my conversation with my brother went nothing like this. I hate Italian and he knows that green sauce is pesto. He's also not as... Well... You get the idea.**

 **Reviews were great!**

 **Nicki~**


	11. New Beginnings 1

**AN: So, I come back, and leave again with no notice whatsoever. Sorry, about that. Basically, I finished my first year at university, and was like "oh, great, I can spend the next three months writing!" but then a friend from uni was like "Hey, I've written this film and it's been comissioned to be put on at this festival, and do you wanna play the main character?" and so I became a professional actress. That's the short version of the story. So, a few weeks later, I'm now unemployed, broke and about to go on lots of holidays which other people are paying for because I need to save for year two of university. So, I'm away for a week to the Coast with my boyfriend and his family; then two weeks later I'm going to Spain with my mum and brothers and then a week after that I'm going to New York with my dad and his other kids. Basically, long story short: updates will be much more sporadic than I first thought over this Summer.**

 **But I hope you all have a great Summer, too!**

 **Now, the idea for this oneshot came when replaying Azran Legacy whilst filming. This may be a bit confusing because Lilly's life is not written in chronological order. So, this chapter briefly discusses her adventures in Spectre's Call, Eternal Diva and Azran Legacy, even though I've not written about those adventures with Lilly yet. However, this is based around Curious Village. And, is the first Lillyesque story with two chapters! So I better update soon eh...**

 **Sorry about the incredibly long authors note... Tell me if you actually read it, yeah?**

 **Enjoy, my loves!**

* * *

Lillyesque

Lilly's Curious Village Part 1

 _18th July 1965_

Upon getting home on the last day of the school year- her final school year- Lilly slammed the door aggressively and marched her way upstairs, completely ignoring her Father jump and go "Oh!" as he heard her violently make her way into the household. She made her way into her bedroom and resisted the strong urge she had to punch the wall. Even just thinking about doing so, was making her more and more angry, as it reminded her of Emmy. Emmy could throw a great punch when it was needed.

Lilly was close to tears for the first time in a long time. She thought back to all the times when she'd been with her Father, in the most dangerous and uncertain situations, and she had never cried. Not even when...

"Lilly?" Her Father called from outside her bedroom, as he gently knocked. "Lilly, are you all right?"

"I'm not decent!" she quickly called back. She didn't want to be angry at him; it hurt her to be so upset towards him, because for so long, he had been all she had. However, she was struggling to hold back and she ended up snapping her words.

There was a pause.

"Is it because today was your last day? You see, I've been thinking and wanted to say-"

"Can you give me a minute?" Lilly called back again, still struggling not to be bitter. "Just let me get changed."

"Of course," her Father replied. She soon heard footsteps going down the corridor and once she was sure he was gone, and she wasn't being listened to, she fell back on the bed and sighed. She counted to ten.

 _There,_ Lilly thought. _That's better._

Calmer, Lilly changed out of her school uniform, completely forgetting that she was to never put it on again. She untied her necktie and removed her white school blouse and replaced it with a purple one, but decided to keep her school skirt, a black knee-length plaited skirt, on. She sighed and made sure she really was calm by counting to ten yet again... And then she made her way down the stairs.

"Hi, Lilly!" Luke greeted, as she entered the living room. She gave a small smile, not surprised that Luke was here. His school would have received the same phone call that hers did; the Professor had been called away on an expedition and it was of the uttermost importance that the two were to follow. Luke would have then been picked up by the Professor from school, whereas Lilly, who had just had her last day of school and had now more or less graduated, had insisted that her last day was too important to her for her to leave, and that they should go without her. The Professor disagreed, and said they'd leave tomorrow instead. Lilly found this frustrating.

"Are you all right?" The Professor smiled gently. "I understand that the last day of school can be overwhelming..."

"Yes. Well, never mind..." Lilly said, taking a seat on the settee. She picked an orange from the fruit bowl and began to peel it. "So, what was it you wanted to say?"

"Well, I wanted to suggest that, because you're adamant on leaving school, and not going back in September, that perhaps you would want to consider being my assistant," the Professor said. "After all, now Emmy's gone, there's a job going, and to be quite honest you really proved yourself at Targent's Nest. You're a lot more clever than you give yourself credit for, you know."

Lilly held her breath.

"Luke, would you mind if I could speak to my Father alone for a minute?" Lilly suggested, gesturing for Luke to leave.

"We can go to my office, Lilly," the Professor said.

"I don't want to be in your office, Father," Lilly sudden;y exclaimed, rather bluntly. Soon realising her aggressiveness, she composed herself. "I- I. Luke, I'm sorry, please excuse this behaviour. I don't wish to put you out, I hope you understand that. But I need to talk to my Father about something- personal. Could you perhaps go and make some tea?"

"Okay..." Luke nodded and jumped down from his seat, heading off to the kitchen.

"Lilly, what is it?" the Professor questioned. "What's wrong, dear?"

The Professor sat down and gestured for Lilly to do the same, but she merely shook her head and paced across the living room, in a similar fashion to how her Father would when he was deep in thought. The only difference was she kept her arms by her sides, as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

"I feel..." Lilly paused, facing the wall. "I don't know if there's a word for it."

"Overwhelmed, perhaps?" the Professor suggested.

"Yes, definitely that, but... Something else, too..." Lilly sighed and turned on the spot to face him, but she kept her eyes flickering between the floor and her Father's face, however she did not make eye contact. "I don't necessarily feel ignored, but... Not thought about, not considered..."

"Neglected?" The Professor asked, sounding rather surprised. He stood up and made his way over to her. "Now why on earth would you feel neglected?"

"Because I am!" Lilly shouted much more loudly than she intended. She paused and felt a part of her break as she saw her Father very slightly flinch. "I apologise for that. I just..."

There was a pause between them, as the Professor waited to see if Lilly was going to finish her sentencee, but she only sighed.

"It's alright, Lilly. Come now," The Professor said and guided her towards a seat with one arm on her left shoulder and the other on her right arm. "Say what you mean, but try and do it in a calm way if you can. Getting upset never solves anything."

Lilly thought for several moments, not sure where to begin.

"You see, ever since you discovered the Azran's Legacy... I... I've been thinking that I don't like these investigations and adventures. And I don't want to go on anymore with you, let alone be your assistant. I mean, if you really want me to work with you, maybe I can work as a security at the University, or something, but... I'm sorry, but I just can't ever have anything like what's happened before at Misthallery or when we faced Targent... I just can't do it. Ever again." Lilly stopped, not sure what else she could say to explain herself in terms of which she felt comfortable saying. When she noticed that her Father wasn't saying anything in response. She was too scared to look at his face, so she apologised again. "I'm so sorry..."

"Please, now, don't apologise," the Professor shook his head. "I understand. I'm sorry you felt this way. You've never said anything before, but of course, if you wish to stay here, that is perfectly fine. However, can I ask why? Is it the danger? Because I can assure you, you've always been perfectly safe. After all, you've been with me and you know I'll never let anything happen to you."

 _Of course_ , Lilly thought, suddenly putting her own puzzle pieces together. Briskly, she stood up and turned to face her Father. He had been sitting next to her and now that she stood, she was looking down at him. A situation, that she had to admit, felt very strange.

"That's why you always had me come with you..." She said. "I always thought it was because you trusted me, but no... You were..."

"What do you mean, Lilly?"

"There have been times you insisted that Luke stay where he was, but always asked me to come with you, because... You thought I was safer if I was with you... That's why you just asked me to be your assistant, wasn't it?"

"Lilly, please..."

"Is this because of Mama?" Lilly interrupted.

"Come and sit me down..." The Professor asked again, patting the space next to him. Reluctantly, Lilly did so. "Of course it has something to do with your Mother. You know, for a long time you were all I had. But... But, Lilly, even if your Mother were still here, I'd still make sure you were always by my side in any dangerous situation we may find ourselves in."

Lilly smiled slightly. Normally talking about her Mother made her upset, but it as soothing her now.

"Actually, I think if Mother was still here there's no way she'd let you, let alone me, go on any of the expeditions we've been on lately," Lilly giggled slightly.

The Professor laughed gently. "Yes, dear. You're perfectly spot on there."

"And... You know how you just said that I was all you had for a long time..." Lilly began, her voice now becoming a bit more serious than before.

"Yes," The Professor nodded.

"Well, that's the same the other way round. You were all I had for a long time, too," Lilly went on. "And so, when we were in the Azran Sanctuary and I saw you... There... I... I didn't think I was ever going to see you again, and you have no idea how that felt. I thought I was all alone in the world and I... I never want that to happen again. I never want to..."

"Lillian, it's okay, it's okay," The Professor began to soothe her. It was only then, as he did so, squeezing her shoulder, that did Lilly realise that she was crying. She quickly wiped her eyes. "We're all back now."

"But you don't know how horrible that feeling was..." Lilly went on.

"I would never dare imagine it," the Professor said. "But when I learnt that my brother's daughter was killed my Targent and then found out that they'd been watching and following you since we found the Golden Garden, I... I thought just for a moment, how lucky I was to still have you."

Lilly smiled slightly.

"Do you think if I phone Pops and Grandma they'll let me stay at there's for a few days whilst you solve this case, then?" Lilly said, standing up. She made her way across the room to the telephone, which sat in the corner of the room, beneath a calendar which was still on the month February.

"I'm sure they will, but, Lilly..." The Professor began. "It really is your decision and it's fine if you don't want to come, but this is perfectly safe. We're simply going to solve a confusing... Puzzle."

"How so?" Lilly questioned, picking up the phone.

"An inheritance dispute," the Professor explained. "A mysterious item is hidden in a village. The finder of the item gets the recently passed Baron's estate and wealth."

"And you've decided to go and find it?"

"I've been asked to, actually," The Professor smiled.

Lilly paused and held the telephone to her chin, as she thougt for a few moments.

"I can't. As safe and... Intriguing as it sounds, I can't, but tell me all about it when you get back."

The Professor chuckled. "Of course I will, if you're absolutely certain that you're not coming."

Lilly grinned, and began to dial the numbers on the telephone. "You know, I've always thought solving puzzles was more your type of thing than mine. Don't you think it's about time I started trying to figure out my own?"

* * *

 **AN: So, this is before Curious Village and the next chapter will be set just after. So... Will be Lilly meeting Flora! Exciting!**

 **Reviews would be so great I'll probably be really happy and stuff.**

 **Nikki~**


	12. New Beginnings 2

**AN: And continuing on from the previous chapter...**

* * *

Lillyesque

Lilly's Curious Village Part 2

 _July 21st 1965_

"And, you know, my humanities teacher always said I was rather witty and said I could be a journalist," Lilly recalled, as she sat with her grandmother on a garden table, sewing something rather peculiar.

"Of course you could!" Her Grandmother, Lucille, nodded her head in agreement. "That would be a great job. You'd get to do lots of travelling, too."

"Oh, no. No more travel for me," Lilly shook her head. "I went halfway round the world in the matter of a week only two months ago. I don't think I'll ever want to travel again."

"Travelling with your Father isn't always how travelling is for everyone else, you know, sweet," Lucille chuckled.

"Either way," Lilly shrugged. "But I don't think I can go anywhere outside of London without relating it to an expedition. We've been to so many places... I doubt I could go anywhere without jumping to the conclusion that the place I'm in is full of danger and mystery."

"Well, perhaps not journalism then-"

"Besides, my spelling is awful."

"It will get better with time, dear."

"You've all been saying that since I was seven," Lilly sighed and put her sewing needle down and picked up her cup of coffee and leant back in her chair.

It was a bright and warm July day on the outskirts of London, at Lilly's grandparents house. The garden was much more green and quiet than any areas in London. Very relaxing... And calming. Lilly preferred this to bustling about an unknown and potentially dangerous territory.

"Now, honestly, I don't know how you can drink hot coffee in this weather," Lucille said, gesturing to the hot sun. "There's lemonade in the fridge. Are you sure I can't get you some?"

"No, it's all right. I don't really like lemonade anymore," Lilly shook her head.

"Now, when did you get so grown up, eh?" Lucille laughed. "Now, what's this then?"

"This?" Lilly checked, holding up the soft purple sheet of fabric she seemed to be embroidering. "It's Father's birthday present. You see these here?"

Lilly pulled the sheet tight to show a clear pattern of runes embroidered in a yellow-gold thread.

"I do and I've been wondering what they are all day..." Lucille replied.

"Well, it's the language of the Azran. You know, the trip we went on?" Lilly answered. "Well, Emmy took quite a few pictures on that trip and she gave some to me. These things, the words, were written in stone in the Azran cave. He's impossible to buy for when it comes to birthdays and Christmas, so I tend to make him something. This was the best thing I could think of. To remind him of... The trip. And how important it was."

Lucille smiled. "Well, I think it's a very good idea."

"Thank you," Lilly nodded, with a smile. "I'm just embroidering the edges now. Making it all a bit more... Nice. Then I'll have to sew another sheet onto the back to stop the embroidery thread from coming loose. And I was thinking to stuff it too. Make it but more like a quilt, perhaps. More practical."

"You see, you're awfully good at things like this. You're creative and good with your hands," Lucille began. "Why don't you do this for a career?"

"How on earth could I make enough money to live on by making things?" Lilly asked.

"By selling them, of course, silly!" Lucille exclaimed. "You could open your own business and sell them."

"I can't open my own business. I have nowhere near enough resources..." Lilly shook her head.

"But you could work your way up. You know, make some things and sell them on, save that money and then use it to open your own stall up on the market, and that as that grows you can open up your own shop... It will take time of course, but it's something you enjoy at least!"

"Hmm... Perhaps," Lilly smiled.

The backdoor to the house suddenly opened, and both the Layton's turned round to see Roland step out.

"Are you ladies, all right out here?" He asked with a beam.

"We're lovely, dear. Would you care to join us?" Lucille replied, gesturing to the empty garden seat. They had a spare for visitors.

"Whilst that does indeed sound lovely, I'm here to inform the young Miss Layton here that her Father's on the phone, would she wish to speak to him," Roland answered, nodding his head towards Lilly.

"Now, what do you mean the young Miss Layton, mister?" Lucille teased, as Lilly eagerly stood up to go to the telephone.

"Nothing, dear," Roland replied with a chuckle, as he went to sit down beside his wife. He gave Lilly a wink as they crossed paths, as she made her way into the house, which made her giggle. Entering the clean, bright house, which contrasted with her own, messy and city like house, Lilly crossed through to the hallway and picked up the telephone receiver from where it had been left, sitting on the table, as the call was left on hold.

"Father? Hello, it's Lilly," Lilly said down the reciever.

"Lilly? Hello, dear," the Professor greeted down the reciever.

"Hello! How are you and Luke?" Lilly asked, with a bright smile on her face. It was hard not to be so happy hearing her Father's voice for the first time since he left three days ago. She was still glad she'd chosen to stay behind, but at the same time, she missed him.

"We're very well, thank you. And yourself? I have to say, you do sound rather cheerful," the Professor remarked.

"Well, I have been having a lovely time with Grandma and Pops," Lilly replied. "We've gone on walks in the countryside, I've been making crafts in the sun in the garden. Grandma and Pops are always such great company. But, anyway, what about you and Luke? You're safe, yes?"

Lilly heard her Father chuckle through the reciever.

"Of course we are, Lilly," the Professor replied. "This expedition has been much more safer than previous ones. However, we were chased by a ferris wheel at one point, but that is all over now."

"You mean to say that you've solved the case?"

Lilly chose not to comment on the ferris wheel. However, the idea did indeed seem rather ridiculous and she briefly wondered whether it was a joke.

"We have indeed and-"

The Professor was suddenly interrupted by Luke. Lilly could faintly hear him saying "are you going to tell Lilly about Flora, Professor?"

"Flora? Who's that?" Lilly questioned.

"Well, having solved the case we... Well, let's just say this will all be much easier if we explain when we get back, but... A young lady, not much younger than you, will be coming to live with us. I thought I should warn you, so as not to shock you, you know?"

"Yes, of course, but I... I don't understand. Who and why?" Lilly queried.

"I'll explain soon, dear. And we're leaving tomorrow. We'll all be home by tomorrow evening, I'd say."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

"Me, too. But, please, Flora, the young lady coming back to London to stay with us, she's been through a lot. You'll be welcoming, won't you?"

"I'm offended that you think I wouldn't be, but... I'm awfully confused."

"Not to worry. All will be explained soon enough, dear."

"Right, okay. So, I'll see you tomorrow then," Lilly began. "Oh, no, wait I have something to ask."

"What is it? Everything's all right, isn't it?" The Professor asked, with a hint of concern, which Lilly couldn't help but roll her eyes at. He was always worried.

"Yes, but... I was just speaking to Grandma, and was... I was wondering... You know the scarfs and blankets and cushions... All those things I've made. Do you think they would... Sell well? In business terms, I mean. You see, I was thinking that maybe I could start a business selling them..."

"Lilly, that sounds like a wonderful idea," the Professor said; Lilly could practically hear his smile in his voice.

She couldn't help but grin widely.

"Thank you, now... I suppose you must get ready to come back, yes?" Lilly said.

"We should, yes, but I'll see you tomorrow," the Professor replied. "Oh, and would you mind doing me a favour before we get back?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Could you set up the spare bedroom? Flor Flora," the Professor requested.

"Sure," Lilly paused for a second. She stared at the wall, as she reflected on her response and decided it would be better to add: "Of course I can. I shall go home after breakfast and do so. No problem at all."

"Thank you. I appreciate that," the Professor thanked.

"But... Umm, Father, I don't understand. I know you said that you'll explain tomorrow, but, Flora... Who is she? Why's she staying with us?" Lilly began to quiz. "Is it like how Aurora stayed with us for a couple of nights before we travelled?"

"Well, Flora's stay with us will be a bit... Less temporary."

Lilly could hear nervousness in her Father's voice. It was rare that anything would ever happen to get her angry, but when something _did_ happen, she had a horribly short temper. Thinking back, Lilly realised the angry tone she'd been using and then she realised why she was becoming upset. She sighed in reluctance; she didn't want to seem any ruder than she already had been, for she really did hate confrontation with her Father, but she was desperate to know the answer.

"Do you mean that Flora is moving in with us?" Lilly asked, slowly, so that she could carefully choose her words and tone, however it seemed to have the opposite effect. Now, she found that she was seeming impatient and even ruder.

"Yes... If that is what she wants, then, yes. Really, after the past few days, it's my job to be her guardian," the Professor explained. Lilly could tell it was as if he were trying to justify himself to her."

"You're just..." Lilly put an arm down by her side and sighed slightly. "You've just confused me even more. Never mind, you can explain tomorrow."

"Of course I will," the Professor replied. "Besides, I think you'll rather like Flora. You're very close in age."

"I'm- I'm sure I will," Lilly forced a smile, even though her Father couldn't see her.

"Now, I best be going and you best be getting back to your Grandparents," the Professor said. "Send them my love, won't you?"

"Of course," Lilly replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, dear."

Lilly hung the phone back up and then sighed, leaning back on the hallway wall. Biting her lip, she began to think. She was just being silly, wasn't she? Of course. There was no possibility whatsoever of Emmy, or even herself, being replaced. Right?

* * *

 **AN: So, this was part two... I decided to make it three parts instead of two, because this and the next chapter seeed a bit too long to scrunch together.**

 **In response to a guest's review on the previous chapter:**

 **First of all, thank you very much sweet-pea for your kind review and I am very glad indeed to hear that you are enjoying it.**

 **In regards to your question about Alfendi: Yes, he is adopted. I will post a oneshot after the final part of Curious Village onto Lillyesque explaining how Alfendi came into their lives. But, if you really would like to know, my fic "Safe To Smile" explains the same theory! However, that oneshot doesn't include Lilly.**

 **Anyhow, thanks for all your lovely reviews, people! Remember, if you have any ideas as well, feel free to tell me about them, for me to include!**

 **Nikki~**


	13. New Beginnings 3

**AN: Okay, so I sort of forgot to do this for the last couple of chapters, so I guess I better do so now...**

 **Review replies!**

 **Girlycathy: Thank you, sweet! Now you can find out how she'll react. :)**

 **Abitat Eco: Yes, I think like any child/parent relationship the two would argue, however I also can imagine that both would hate to do so. My current update order is Lillyesque, 100 Snapshots and Visions, so after each chapter, Visions will be updated before Lillyesque is again. Thanks for your reviews and enthusiasm!**

 **The Mocking J: Thank you for the review. I try and add references to the games to make it seem a bit more real and relevant; also it helps give it a time setting, making it easier to write and details easier to add. :)**

* * *

Lillyesque

New Beginnings Part Three

 _July 22nd 1965_

Lilly sighed loudly as she scrambled on top of the guest room's bed, trying to fix a bed sheet over the mattress. It was an impossible task. Every time she reached across to the other side to pull the elastic over one corner of the bed, the sheet sprang back on the opposite corner, and then when Lilly went to fix that, the other corner that Lilly had just put into place would pop off. Frustratedly, Lilly stood up after clambering off the bed. She'd just fixed the final corner...

"Finally," Lilly murmured, after having counted to five and all four corners of the sheet having stayed in place.

She reached to the floor and picked up two pillows, laying them on top of each other at the top of her bed. Lilly had used on of her duvet and pillow covers sets; a patchwork quilt with squares of different types of flowers, ranging from lavendar to daisies to roses. Lilly would have used the plain, deep reddish-brown sheets, only when she removed them from the airing cupboard, she'd found a funny sort of stain on them. She assumed it had been Luke, who often slept in the spare bedroom, and had snuck in some midnight snacks. Reluctantly, Lilly had used one of her own sets that she'd made herself.

Just as she was smoothing the quilt down, she heard the front door open and close.

"Lilly?!"

Her Father's voice called up from the downstairs floor.

Lilly left the room and walked over to the banister, looking down to the entrance to the house, where she saw her Father, Luke and a girl about her age, who she assued to be Flora. She had brown curly hair that she had tied up with a pink ribbon. To match, she wore a pink dress with a frilly collar. It was a bit too fancy for Lilly's taste, but she'd never been one to judge someone on their outfit before. Emmy's outfit, for example, was a horrific and vulgar lime green, but Emmy had been Lilly's first female role model since her Mother.

"Good afternoon. How was the journey home?" Lilly asked, making her way down the stairs to meet the three of them in the hallway.

"Perfectly fine, dear," the Professor smiled at his daughter.

"Hi, Lilly!" Luke greeted happily, making his way through with his blue suitcase.

Lilly looked over at the young girl, standing timidly behind the Professor. She hadn't said a word.

"You must be Flora," Lilly said with a friendly smile. "Hi. My name's Lilly. I'm the Professor's daughter."

"Yes, the Professor mentioned you," Flora nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

Lilly smiled and held out her hand. Nervously, Flora reached out and gently shook her hand.

"Here. Let me take your bags. I can show you your room," Lilly offered, taking ahold of the two suitcases that the girl had been carrying.

"Thank you," Flora responded gratefully, following Lilly upstairs, once the Professor had given her an encouraging and reassuring smile.

Lilly pulled the two suitcases up behind her, not a hundred percent sure why she was being so nice to Flora. It wasn't that she didn't like the girl, but... Well, she barely knew her. And she couldn't help but be suspicious after everything that they'd been through with Professor Desmond Sycamore. Besides, she barely even knew this girl.

Lilly opened the door to the spare room and put the suitcases down by her side, holding the door open and gesturing for Flora to go inside.

"Here we go," Lilly said, pulling in the suitcases after her. "This is the spare room. Well, I suppose yours now."

"It's nice," Flora commented, glancing around.

"Would you, err, like me to help you put your things away?" Lilly asked, standing by the door.

"No... I can manage," Flora replied with a small nod.

"Right, okay..." Lilly said, looking over at the door and then back at Flora. "So... My Father hasn't explained... Why are you?... You know... Why are you here?"

Flora looked up and over at the elder girl as she picked up her suitcases and placed them onto her bed.

"I... Erm... It's a long story..." Flora responded, zipping open her first suitcase.

"Hmm..." Lilly murmured. "Can you not even explain some of it?"

Lilly didn't quite realise how blunt she was being.

"Erm... Well, my Father left a puzzle in his will... And the Professor solved it," Flora began to explain.

"And that meant my Father was somehow left with you in his custody?" Lilly queried. Her arms were folded and her eyebrow raised, which made her seem rather intimidating to the younger girl

"Only if he wanted to..." Flora replied quietly, almost in a whisper.

Lilly paused for a second.

"Well," the elder brunette said after a moment. "I'll leave you to get settled in."

-X-X-X-

"So, can you tell me who Flora is now?" Lilly firmly said, striding into the kitchen to find her Father making tea. As always.

The Professor turned around and jumped, rather taken aback.

"Lilly," he said rather sternly. "Will you please calm down?"

"I am calm!" Lilly exclaimed in response. "I just went and offered to help Flora to set up her room and put her things away. She would barely even look me in the eye. She's the one you should be telling to calm down!"

The Professor sighed and set the teapot on the stove, before turning to face Lilly.

"Maybe that was because... Well, you are being rather, stand-offish, to be quite honest," the Professor replied.

"How else am I supposed to treat her?" Lilly angrily snapped. "I know nothing about her and for all we know, she could be... Targent? Or someone even worse!"

"Lilly!" The Professor said in shock. "Please, stop this."

"Hmph," Lilly frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Professor and sighed and took the pot of tea of the stove. He took out two cups from the cupboard and poured tea from the pot into each cup. He offered one to Lilly, which she took without a word. Then, still without a word, the Professor took the jug of milk and poured a splash of it into each of their cups. Lilly held her cup in both hands and she had an aggressive and fed up look on her face, her brow furrowed and her lips pursed.

"Flora is the daughter of a late Baron," the Professor began to explain. "The Baron put in his will that whoever could find the treasure, named the Golden Apple, would inherit his wealth. The treasure which was the Golden Apple was in fact, Flora herself."

"And so...?" Lilly shrugged, not fully understanding.

"And really the puzzle to solve wasn't to find the Golden Apple, but was a test, to find a suitable guardian for Flora," the Professor explained. "And I solved it."

"And so now you have no choice but to look after this girl?" Lilly frowned, putting her tea down so she could cross her arms.

"No, I gave Flora the choice of course," the Professor answered. "And she chose to come with us."

"But why would she choose to come with people she never met before, when she could stay in that little village?" Lilly asked. "I mean, surely she'd feel much safer in that little village than the big city. Besides, she'd only just met you, how could she just decide to come with you?"

"I suppose because she didn't want to stay in the village anymore."

"But, why?" Lilly asked, now very frustrated.

"Can you promise to not tell anyone else?" the Professor checked.

Lilly frowned and dropped her arms to her sides.

"What are you saying? Are you saying you don't trust me?" Lilly began to accuse, her face dropping in disappointment.

"No, I'm not at all-" The Professor began to explain. "It's just that you did say you wanted to stop coming with us, so I was wondering whether you..."

Sighing, Lilly picked up her tea and made her way into the living room, sitting down on the settee. The Professor frowned in confusion and then followed after her, to find Lilly sitting in the corner of the sofa, her head resting against her hand. The Professor sat down gently beside her.

"Just tell me that she is not a replacement for Emmy," Lilly said, looking up.

"What? Lilly, I-" The Professor began to say. "Is that what this is all about? You miss Emmy?"

The brunette didn't respond for several moments, she instead just looked away. Then, she nodded.

"Oh, Lilly..." The Professor sighed, reaching over to put his hand on her shoulder. "I miss her, too, you know. But... I can assure you, there's no way that I'll be taking Flora with Luke and myself on any expeditions or investigations. You're right, you know, after all that we went through with Targent and the Azran, it is way too dangerous."

"Hmm..." Lilly nodded. "I'm sorry for being-"

"It's okay. I understand," the Professor nodded, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Just try not to take it out on Flora, eh?"

Flora smiled and nodded. "Of course not. She seems rather nice, just a bit nervous at the moment, I suppose."

"Well, like you said, London is a big city and she's lived in a tiny village all her life," the Professor pointed out.

"Do you think it will help if I offer to show her around perhaps? I could take her around Gressenheller. I needed to go shopping, anyway. And see if any places are hiring."

"Ah, is this about your little business idea, then?" The Professor asked.

"It is," Lilly said, standing up.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck- although I'm sure you won't need it."

A short while later, as the Professor sat in his living room with Luke, as they discussed their most recent adventure, the two of them looked up as they heard two girls making their way down the stairs, giggling.

"We're off out, Papa," Lilly called. "We should be back by five."

"Have a nice afternoon, ladies," the Professor called, as the two young ladies made their way out of the door, still laughing.

"See, Professor," Luke beamed. "I told you Lilly and Flora would get along!"

"Oh, Luke. I never doubted they would."

* * *

 **AN: I hope you've all enjoyed the past three chapters! :)**

 **If any of you have any ideas or requests, feel free to let me know in a review or PM!**

 **PS. I'm on holiday at the moment. Unfortunately, the weather's terrible, so I may still update occasionally. It depends what dry activities we can find to do in the middle of nowhere! (At least there's wi-fi!)**

 **Nikki~**


	14. The Puzzle of DIY Furniture

**AN: Hi, folks! Sorry for the wait for the update. I've had a bit of a hectic week, but here I am with an update based upon my recent experience of having my brother and pregnant sister in law try and put together a bookshelf for me, because I really can't do DIY stuff.**

 **sit**

 **A little funny one-shot for you, anyway. It's set not long after How Is It I'm The Younger Sibling? Which is chapter ten of this fic!**

* * *

Lillyesque

The Puzzle of DIY Furniture

 _25th August 1967_

"Are you sure you two don't want some help?" A very pregnant Lucy asked for perhaps the twentieth time that afternoon.

"We're fine, dear," Alfendi replied.

The crimson haired police inspector sat cross-legged on the bedroom floorboards of Lilly's newly bought house. His younger sister, sat beside him. Or rather, she lay; stomach down, feet up, elbows propped up. They were both staring intently at a set of instructions that was confusing the both of them greatly. The reason for this? The instructions only consisted of pictures. Confusing, unclear, badly drawn pictures.

Lilly, who had recently opened a shop where she sold her handmade cushions, bedthrows, blankets, curtains and table cloths, had decided that it was time that she moved out of her Father's house once and for all. She had moved rather quickly after leaving school, two years prior to meeting Clive and Dimitri, and now several months after that whole... incident, Lilly had decided it was time for her to grow up. Properly. She had saved up enough money to open up her own small shop and the business had in fact been doing so well that she was able to buy a small house of her own. Even better when she found a place just in her price range that was only a five minute car journey from her Father's.

In fact, Lilly couldn't find a downside to the situation at all. Independence, quiet, tidyness (the Professor was a rather unorganised person and his home reflected that, no matter how hard Lilly and Flora worked to try and tidy up after him) it would be perfect. That was until Lilly had to sleep on a mattress the first night of living in her new house, after she largely underestimated the time it would take to put together a bed frame. She'd started at about half past three, expecting to be done by five, at which point she'd make dinner. At half past nine, she was still trying to fit the frame together with the help of the instruction booklet which appeared to be in German. Lilly's language skills were only so developed that she could not do more than ask for directions in French.

It had taken her another day to finally piece the bed together. Her bookcase, wardrobe and working desk (where she could stitch and make her furnish her goods for her shop) had arrived that day in large cardboard boxes. After signing for them and paying the delivery man a bit extra for carrying them upstairs for her, Lilly had quickly called her brother to ask for some assistance in putting together her furniture.

The first thing Alfendi had done upon arrival, was comment on the irony of the situation.

"My dear sister, you _own_ a furniture store, but you can't put together furniture," Alfendi teased.

Lucy had then playfully hit his arm and pointed out that Lilly owned a textiles and home furnishing shop. Not a furniture shop.

Two hours later and the only thing the two Layton siblings had accomplished was opening the box and ripping through the polystyrene and bubble wrap, which Alfendi was still enjoying popping. Even opening the box had taken nearly half an hour. The other ninety minutes had been spent staring in confusion at the badly drawn picture diagrams that came in the instruction pamphlet.

"Are you sure you're _fine?"_ Lucy said. The police constable, who was currently off work for maternity reasons, leant on the door frame of the bedroom, watching her husband and sister in law stare in confusion and frustration. "Here, let me have a look at it. I bet'ya I can figure it out."

"No, it's fine. We've got it," Alfendi pointed out. "You can't do any heavy lifting."

"I am stronger than the both of you put together!" protested Lucy.

"I don't disagree, but you're also thrity seven weeks pregnant," Alfendi pointed out. "You can go and get us some coffee, though. This may take us a while."

"Don't worry about coffee, Lucy. I can get it," Lilly pointed out. "The sofa came this morning. All in one piece, thankfully. I have no idea how they managed to fit it through the door, though. Anyway, go put your feet up. Don't worry about us."

Lilly looked up at her sister in law and gave her a quick smile before returning to an exasperated expression and glaring at the instructions.

"Honestly, you two are rubbish," Lucy scoffed. "Professor Layton's children, yet you won't go near a cup of tea, only ever coffee, _and_ you can't solve the most basic puzzle of how to put up a bookshelf even with both of you working on it!"

"I've never been one for puzzles, you know that," Lilly said, as she stood up to go and get coffee. It was becoming clear to her that the bookshelf may take just as long as the bed had taken to put up and Alfendi was unlikely to want to stop to sleep. He was much more determined and stubborn than her- and that was saying something.

"Unlike yer Dad, again," Lucy chuckled. "By the way, I'm sure he could figure it out. Yer' Dad, I mean. Why'd you call us instead of him?"

"Well, for one, he's off in Holland doing a talk at a museum. You know those stones he found a few years ago and how they turned out to be a- err- a miniature sundial? A way to tell the time before clocks? Anyway, the stones are being placed at this museum in Holland and he's there sspeaking to consultants and journalists about them. So, because of that, he's not exactly available at the moment," Lilly explained. "Second of all, I thought about your baby's nursery, so I assumed you must be good at interior design. You two put all that together; you painted the walls that lovely yellow and you put up that cot."

"Actually, Lillian," Alfendi interrupted, "That cot came already together."

"No it didn't," Lucy scoffed.

"Yes, it did," Alfendi disagreed. "How else is it together? I, for one, certainly didn't put it up."

"No, because I did!" Lucy exclaimed.

Alfendi paused and began to blush.

"You mean to say... You can do DIY?" Alfendi asked.

"I've been trying to tell you all day!" Lucy replied, with a sigh, before holding her hand out for the instructions, as the expectant police officer couldn't exactly bend down and snatch them out of Alfendi's hand as she so desired. "Here, give me those instructions."

Half an hour later, Lilly's bookcase was up.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed this oneshot! I just have a couple of annoying things to say here. I hope you don't mind.**

 **If you have any ideas for any one-shots or mini stories for Lillyesque please let me know.**

 **If you'd like to see anymore adult Lilly, anymore baby Lilly or anymore teenage Lilly specifically, please let me know.**

 **If you have any questions, please ask and I can answer.**

 **If you read this fic and would like more of it, please let me know in my current poll which you can view on my profile.**

 **If you've just read this chapter please give me a quick review and let me know what you thought. It REALLY makes my day.**

 **That's all, folks. I'll hopefully update again this week. :)**

 **Nikki~**


	15. The Girl who Cried Sick

**AN: So, it's been a while since I wrote about little Lilly.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

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Lillyesque

The Girl who Cried Sick

 _15th December 1953_

It was safe to say, Claire had never felt as awful as she did then, as she frantically paced the operating waiting room of Gressenheller's Children's Hospital. Claire trembled with fear, she felt sick with guilt and she bit her nails with anxiousness. She kept asking herself with fury: how could she have let this happen? She was a Mother, and up until now, she'd thought she was a good one. Now, though, she wasn't so sure. A good Mother would never let anything like this happen, surely.

When the door opened at Hershel rushed in, Claire jumped and became terribly frightened, before she realised it was her husband. She'd thought it was a Doctor and Lillian had only gone into surgery twenty minutes ago. She'd panicked for a second that something had gone horribly wrong.

"Claire," Hershel said urgently, his own face contorting with panic. He'd received a call from the University that his daughter had been taken to hospital, sick.

"Hershel," Claire said back, reaching over to him as he frantically made his way over to her and put his hands either side of her arms.

"What's going on? Is Lillian okay?" Hershel asked.

"Appendicitis," Claire replied. She'd stopped crying several minutes ago, but now that she was speaking about the topic, tears started again. "She's in surgery now..."

Hershel took a moment to take a deep breath. He, too, was worried for his daughter's welfare, but he gave himself a second to think logically and calm down. Besides, Claire was clearly worried enough and he doubted that even his words of science, biology and statistics could calm Claire down completely. It would be better for the whole family if Hershel remained calm and rational.

"Claire," he said after a slight pause, in a calmer tone. "I think we should sit down. Here, you're shaking."

Hershel lead Claire to one of the several chairs of the waiting room. The room was clearly built to contain a big family. One that Claire, was sure, would be just as worried as her.

Once they were sitting down and Hershel had his arm around Claire in an attempt to comfort her, Hershel spoke again.

"Appendicitis is very common, you know," Hershel began to explain. "The surgeons hear will perform this type of surgery at least five times a day and the chance of anything going wrong is quite literally nought."

Claire didn't respond. Instead, she sat, leaning forward, her lugs jutting up and down and her elbows resting on top of them and she rested her chin on her hands, which were clenched together. She looked ahead, closing her eyes and sighing every minute or so.

"Claire, I promise you, Lillian will be quite all right," Hershel reassured again, when he didn't get a response.

"I know, I know, I studied human biology and anatomy to level 4, you know," Claire harshly responded. She soon realised her angry tone and hesitated before she spoke again, not wanting to be rude to her husband when he was clearly trying so hard to comfort her. "It's not that. I mean, yes, I'm worried, how could I not be? But..."

"But?" Hershel asked, now rather confused. Still, he kept his arm around her redhead's shoulder in an attempt to soothe her.

"I shouted at her," Claire whispered. "She was ill and in pain. I thought she was pretending, because she didn't want to go to school. She was crying and..."

Claire stopped, beginning to sob. She couldn't go on without stumbling on her words. If she were to go on, she'd only cry harder.

The past twelve hours in the Layton household had been rather hectic indeed. Sometime towards Lillian's bedtime the previous evening, the five year old had began to whimper and complain about stomach pains. She'd continued to do so throughout the night and had gone into her parent's room several times saying how the stomach pains were so bad that she couldn't sleep. Her parents, however, who were normally very sympathetic towards the small girl's cries had jumped to the conclusion that Lillian was pretending to be sick, in order to take time off school. The young girl made it no secret that she hated school; she found it boring and she was struggling to keep up with the other pupils her age, academically. In fact, she tried to fake being unwell frequently, in a bid to try and get off school. The trick had worked the first time, but never again.

"Claire..." Hershel sighed. "Please don't be too hard on yourself. I thought she was pretending, too."

"But I shouted at her," Claire reminded. "I've never shouted at her before. She was ill. Really ill. And I didn't believe her a-and I was just so fed up with her, because I thought she was just putting on an act, that I lost my temper for just a second and..."

"Claire," Hershel said again. "It's okay. It's understandable."

"No. It's not," Claire shook her head, before whispering her next words. "Barely a minute after I shouted she keeled over. You know when sometimes people faint, but it's only for a second? It wasn't like that. Lillian completely blacked out. Even then, I thought she was pretending, but then I realised she was burning up. She most likely had been since last night, and I was so quick to judge her and doubt her that I didn't even think to check."

Hershel paused for a moment in order to think about how to approach the situation in the best way possible to calm down his wife. Truthfully, he felt guilty, too. He had also dismissed their daughter's complaints as a faked sickness. He felt rather idiotic for doing so, considering that all of Lillian's previous attempts to trick her parents into thinking she was sick had been badly performed, and last night's cries had certainly been a step up. Hershel was rather ashamed about how he hadn't picked up on it either. Although, the difference between last nigth and previous times Lillian had pretended to be sick was clearly obvious as last night's Lillian had been much more fragile and clingy. Given the fact that Claire had been sure the five year old was pretending, it was completely understandable that Claire had briefly lost her temper and raised her voice.

"I presume after Lillian collapsed you called an ambulance?" Hershel asked.

"Of course I did," Claire nodded.

"In which case, I think you have no reason to feel bad or ashamed," Hershel replied. "After all, you only ever did what you felt was necessary. Lillian's perfectly safe and will be back to complete health in a few days. I think that with that taken into consideration, you're at no fault here, whatsoever."

Claire sighed and slowly, as if she was scared that he would push her away, moved up to Hershel, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know," she sighed. "But I still can't help feel sick with worry."

"Me, too, dear," Hershel said as put his arm around her and gently kissed the top of her head. "Me, too."

-X-X-X-

Two hours later and Lillian was out of surgery and lying, still asleep from the anesthetic, in a bed in the recovery ward with both her parents by her side. Her Father was sitting in a chair, close beside her bed, with a newspaper which he'd yet to read on his lap. Claire, on the other hand, was curled up on the hospital bed, lying next to her daughter (although she lay on top of the sheets).

Lillian began to wake and stirred, kicking her feet slightly and moving her wrists as she stretched her muscles.

"Mmm..." She mumbled as she awoke.

"Hey, chick," Claire smiled fondly as her daughter woke up.

Because of the way Claire was lying, her face right next to her daughter's, her face was the first thing Lillian saw as she opened her eyes.

"Mama..." Lillian said, the beginnings of a smile showing on her face through dimples on her cheeks.

It was then that the five year old reached out with her arms towards her Mother. Claire was more than happy to embrace her daughter and sat up immediately and wrapped her arms around the young, and rather small, girl. Claire giggled quietly and looked up and over at Hershel, who too was smiling.

"You scared us, Lillian," Hershel said, standing up so he could maneuver himself on to the bed and join his wife and daughter. "I'm glad to see you're all right now."

Lillian nodded and turned away from her Mother briefly to look at her Father.

"You two didn't believe me..." Lillian pointed out. "Told you I was sick."

"I know, pet. I'm sorry," Claire said.

"Now, Lillian," Hershel began. He had a firm voice, but it still felt warm and friendly. He was rather good at convincing and persuading their daughter because of this. "Have you ever heard of the story of the boy who cried wolf?"

Lillian shook her head.

"Well, one day, long ago, there was a boy who's job was to look after the sheep on top of a hill," Hershel began. Lillian adjusted herself to be sitting, curled up by her Mother who was sitting up and resting against the head of the bed. She sat so she could see her Father and listened intently to the story. "Now, this boy was very cheeky, you see, and one night, as he watched over the sheep, he became very bored. Wanting something to entertain himself, the boy began to shout and chant 'Help! Help! There's a wolf and he's chasing the sheep!' And so, the villagers who heard him from down the hill came running as fast as they could to help the boy chase away the sheep. However, when they got there, they saw that there was no wolf. The boy laughed at their angry faces and the villagers returned to the village beneath the hill, upset that the boy had lied to them. The next night, the boy did the same thing and cried wolf. Sure enough, like the last night, the villagers came running up, but only to find that there was no wolf. They returned, angrily, back down to the village and the boy laughed at how silly they were. Then, the third night, as the boy was minding the sheep, he was terrified to see a wolf- a real wolf- come running and chase the sheep. 'Help! Help!' the boy cried. 'There's a wolf and he chased all the sheep!' But unlike the last two nights, no one came. For the boy had tricked the villagers twice now and they thought he was tricking them once again. And so, the villagers didn't come and help him chase the wolf away, because they didn't believe him. By the next morning, the wolf was gone, but so were all of the sheep."

"Did the wolf chase them away?" Lillian asked.

"He most certainly did," Hershel nodded. "If the boy hadn't lied and tricked the villagers that there was a wolf before, then I'm sure the villagers would have come as quickly as possible to come and chase the wolf away."

"But they didn't..." Lillian said.

"No, because they thought the boy was tricking them again, didn't he?" Claire pointed out.

"Yeah..." Lillian nodded. "He's silly. He shouldn't have lied. Now all the poor sheep have gone."

"Now, Lillian, dear, do you think maybe that if you didn't tell me and Mama that you're sick when you're really not, do you think we would've believed you this time, when you really were unwell?" Hershel asked.

"Mmm..." Lillian thought for a second, looking down in slight embarrassment and shame. "Maybe. I'm sorry Mama and Papa."

"It's okay, dear," Hershel smiled. "Just as long as you don't do it again."

"I won't," Lillian promised.

"Good girl," Claire said, kissing the top of her daughter's head, before sighing in relief. "I'm just glad you're all right."

* * *

 **AN: I've had this idea for ages and I'm so glad and relieved it's finally written.**

 **Whilst writing this, my mum came into my room and asked if I'd found any charities that I could apply to for financial grants to help with the cost of university this year. I'd completely forgotten that I'd promised her I would do that today. Sigh... This is not being a productive Summer.**

 **Still, I enjoy writing fanfiction and about Lilly!**

 **As always, let me know if there's anything in particular you want to see in this fic. :)**

 **Nikki~**


	16. Additions to the Family

**AN: Have a bit more adult/Mother Lilly. This chapter is being written so I can begin to add the new character of Katrielle Layton into Lilly's timeline overtime. I'm still not a hundred percent sure whether I will completely add in Katrielle to this fic or not, as we do not know anything about her; she could of course not fit in with the original Layton Universe which would obviously not make sense as Lilly is set in with the original Layton Universe. So, this could be the beginning of Katrielle, or it could be just a new partner for Professor Layton. I don't know yet. :)**

* * *

Lillyesque

Additions to the Family

 _January 20th 1971_

Nearly four weeks ago, Lilly had given birth to her first child; a son. Ever since, she had been completely exhausted and spent a majority of her time fretting that she was doing everything completely wrong. He seemed to cry a lot; more than she thought he should. She worried that she was feeding him too much and then she worried that she was feeding him too little. She would worry that he was too cold, for it was a truly cold Winter this year, and so would edge his cradle closer to the radiator and then she would worry that he was too hot.

As a result of all of this, she frequently found herself on the edge of a mental breakdown and was constantly wishing for her husband would return home from work and for Flora to return from University, just so she would have someone to take over with the worrying so that she could rest and calm herself in preparation for all the worrying she would do the next day.

And so, when Lilly had received a phone call from her Father that morning to ask if she would be in that afternoon for tea, Lilly had been overjoyed. She sat on her sofa, next to the crib which held her sleeping infant son, and drew a design of clouds and aeroplanes in her sketchpad. She wanted to do a design inspired by her baby boy, which she'd be able to print onto bed-sheets and curtains for her shop. She was just drawing the nose of an aeroplane when she heard a gentle tap at the door. Putting her sketchpad to the side, Lilly stood up and made her way towards the front door and opened it with a grin.

"Father," she greeted with a wide smile. She really was relieved to see him, although he was a frequent visitor (thrice a week, perhaps?).

"Hello!" The Professor smiled back.

"Come in, come in," Lilly ushered, opening the door wider, but closing it quickly once her Father stepped inside. It was rather chilly outside and it had been snowing that morning and Lilly feared that the cold air would get inside the house and make her son sick. "How are you? Was the journey all right in the car what with this snow?"

"I'm fine and so was the journey," the Professor replied, dusting snow off his feet on the doormat. "What about you, dear? How are you and my grandson?"

"We're well. Tired, though," Lilly laughed slightly. "He's asleep right now. Oh, and that reminds me, we've finally decided on a name for him."

The Professor followed Lilly through into the living room, were the young woman stopped by the baby's crib. The Professor watched his daughter smile softly down at the newborn, her hand draped down into the crib, gently stroking the boy's foot through the baby grow. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. She'd had a stressful and lonely few years and he felt she deserved some happiness.

"Can I hear his name, then?" The Professor asked, as he took the seat on the sofa that Lilly had been sitting in before she'd answered the door. "Or are you planning to announce it to the whole family at some point?"

"We will do that, but I wanted to tell you first," Lilly replied. "This is Theodore Clive Clarence Worthington. Or, Teddy for short. I hope you don't mind the first name?"

The Professor chuckled as he looked down at his grandson, who lay snug in a white baby-grow which was patterned with a series of blue stars and was covered by a yellow blanket that Lilly had knitted herself. He noted the tufts of dark brown hair on his head and his small nose. He was an exact copy of Lilly when she was an infant- and he couldn't believe that that was over two decades ago.

"Of course not," The Professor replied.

"I had to name him after something or someone, you see," Lilly explained. "I wanted a story to his name. Something I could tell him about when he's old enough to understand. In the end, we decided to name him after you, but we thought there couldn't be two Hershel's in the family. So, Theodore. I know you don't like to speak about all of that... But it's still who you once were. A story of you. Besides, I do like the name."

"I couldn't agree more," The Professor nodded. "It certainly is the perfect name for a gentleman."

Lilly smiled softly at his remark and then looked down towards Teddy.

"Okay, then, darling," Lilly whispered to Teddy, ever so gently stroking his cheek with her knuckles. "Grandad and me are going to have tea in the dining room. You just call when you need me."

The Professor laughed at this. He could remember vividly when Lilly was born and how Claire would talk to her as if she could understand every word. He'd felt rather silly doing it at first and could never do it in front of people until Lilly was a toddler- and by then she could just about understand him.

-X-X-X-

"So, no classes on Wednesday afternoons this term?" Lilly asked as she lifted the squealing kettle as the water boiled. Luckily, as a newborn, Teddy's sleep wasn't easily disturbed and so Lilly didn't need to worry about closing the door and not being able to hear his cries in case he woke up.

"No. I lecture the first years on Wednesday mornings from ten am until eleven thirty am," The Professor replied. Lilly could tell by his voice that he was rather happy about this, which entertained her. "Then afterwards, I could mark papers, but at this time of the year there's not much of that to do and so I thought I may as well come and see my daughter and grandson."

"Well, we're very glad you did," Lilly replied, pouring the hot water into the teapot. "I've got some banana cake in the fridge. Flora made it. You know, she's gotten really good at baking recently."

"I know. I remember Christmas dinner," The Professor chuckled, thinking back to the recently passed Christmas Day.

Lilly had planned to make Christmas Dinner that year as she had been growing rather fond of throwing dinner party. Besides, she liked having a full house. However, when Christmas morning came and everyone, the Professor, Luke, Alfendi, Lucy and their daughter Polly, turned up, Flora was there to reveal that Lilly was in fact at the hospital awaiting the arrival of Teddy. Everyone, although overjoyed to hear this news, was indeed very nervous to hear that the Christmas dinner would be cooked by someone who once put a lettuce in an oven in an attempt to give it "an extra crisp". To everyone's surprise, however, Christmas dinner had been delightful.

"She makes dinner most nights now. I'm too tired, though I fear she is, too," Lilly sighed, carrying the teapot into the dining room and putting it on the table before returning to the kitchen and taking a loaf coated in tinfoil out of the fridge. The two then sat down in the dining table.

"How is she finding University? I haven't spoken to her for nearly a week," The Professor commented.

"Oh, she's still absolutely loving it," Lilly replied. Flora was currently in her first year at Gressenheller University where she was studying Anthropology.

"That's good to hear. I thought she'd like it," The Professor remarked. Due to her childhood, Flora had always been rather introverted and had been hesitant about attending University. It had been the Professor who'd encouraged her to do so and even encouraged her towards the subject of Anthropology.

Lilly served the tea and cut each of them a slice of Flora's banana cake. She had to check how her Father took his tea, which was rather strange as she'd been making him cups of tea for years. White with half a teaspoon of sugar, which was also just as she took it. Having a baby had really taken a toll on her.

"Actually, Lilly," The Professor began, with a rather strange expression on his face. It looked like nerves, but Lilly couldn't be sure as she couldn't remember ever seeing Flora nervous before. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about today."

"Oh?" Lilly frowned.

"Yes. I, erm, apologise about this, but-"

"You apologise?" Lilly frowned further, growing confused as she used her fork to cut off a but of cake from her slice. "Din't be silly. What do you have to apologise for? Ah-"

Before the Professor had a chance to answer, there was the sound of a child's cry coming from the living room. Teddy. Lilly sighed and quickly got up and made her way through to the living room, quickly returning with Teddy; he wasn't hungry and nor did he need changing. He simply just wanted some attention. And so, Lilly returned to the dining room and sat back down at the table, holding Teddy to her chest.

"Sorry about that," Lilly apologised, carefully positioning the yellow blanket around Teddy's middle as he nuzzled up her neck. Lilly gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I- err," The Professor blushed, but his daughter didn't notice. Lilly was far too busy cradling the small baby, stroking his soft hair and positioning his blanket so that he was warm. "I... I wanted to... Well, check that you're okay with something?"

"That I'm okay with what?" Lilly looked up for barely a second as she replied, but then she returned to cooing at her son.

"That... That I've began to see someone," The Professor replied nervously.

"Hmm?" Lilly looked up from Teddy, but this time she stayed to look up. Her eyebrows furrowed and her face showed that she was quizzical. "You mean... Romantically?"

"Yes," The Professor nodded. His cheeks were now bright red. "Y-yes. I've bee seeing someone romantically. Dating, as they call it, I believe."

Lilly grinned.

"Goodness," she chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. Were you, Teddy?" Lilly laughed and scooped Teddy up from under his armpits and lifted him up to face her. He gurgled in response and Lilly laughed again. "Me neither."

The Professor looked rather shocked. Shocked and confused. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but... He hadn't been expecting Lilly to be so content with it. Or for her to find it humourous.

"You-you mean you're okay with-?" Hershel began to ask. "I mean, it's not serious. It's just been lunch outings, really, and a couple of trips to the garden centre. Helen does seem to like plants..."

"Father, please," Lilly said, shaking her head and placing Teddy in the hook of her arm so she could put one hand on her Father's in an attempt to calm him. "It's all right. You have the right to see whoever you like. Though, I will admit I'm honoured that you thought to ask for my blessing."

The Professor smiled and put his other hand on hers, so that her hand was sandwiched between his.

"Thank you, my dear," he smiled. "That means a lot. Especially coming from you."

"Not to worry." Lilly smiled back fondly, before taking her hand back to adjust Teddy back to his original position; her arm was quickly beginning to ache. "I do have to say, I really wasn't expecting this. But I'm glad. You deserve someone."

"Do you think so?" The Professor chuckled before taking a sip of his tea. Lilly hadn't touch hers yet, out of fear that she would spill a drop of the hot beverage on Teddy. "

"Of course. I'm a married woman and Alfendi's been married for nearly five years now," Lilly pointed out. "Plus, now that Luke's back in London and studying at Gressenheller... Well, let's just say something between Luke and Flora really is beginning to blossom. Oh, but don't tell her I told you. My point is, love is natural and beautiful and so is family. So, if I'm getting a stepmother, tell me about her. How did you meet?"

The Professor blinked. He really wasn't expecting this amount of enthusiasm. He was expecting Lilly to be saddened as if she felt her Mother had been replaced. That wasn't how it was at all, of course, and Hershel knew that, but he wasn't too sure if Lilly would understand.

"Father, honestly, it's okay," Lilly said. She knew exactly what he was thinking. "I still miss Mother, of course I do. Especially now that I have Teddy. You know, I think about, you know, whether if anything were to happen to me and Teddy were to be left alone. I wish Mama had been there when he was born and I wish she were here to meet him. But I've had a long time to accept the fact that my Mother isn't here anymore, and so have you. We all need someone, you know. Mama would be happy for you. You know, when everything happened those few years ago, I hate to think about them, but I will never forget any of the things she said to me. One of them was what she wanted me to be happy, no matter what. That would have applied to you, too, you know."

"Do you really think so?" The Professor asked with a small sigh.

"Of course I do," Lilly reassured. "You see, I don't really understand what it is Flora's studying at the moment, but I let her tell me about it, anyway, and the only thing I've actually understood is that humans are animals that travel in packs. We need companions. Now, I'm not saying I'm going to think of Helen, that was what you said wasn't it? Yes, I'm not saying I'll think of her as my new Mother, but I'm sure we'll get along. Now, I'm interested. Tell me about her."

"Very well," he said with a slight chuckle. "Helen is a new Professor of psychology at Gressenheller. She has a young daughter, who I haven't had the chance to meet yet, but she's only a toddler and not two for another few months. She likes gardening, like I said, and we met at the University, of course."

"What does she look like?" Lilly asked. She really was curious, however was becoming slightly distracted with Teddy as he gurgled in a way that almost sounded like his first giggle.

"Well, she has light brown hair, which is short. A bit like yours used to be and- Wait, hold on, what was that you said about Luke and Flora?!"

* * *

 **AN: So everyone's happy and in love! :D**

 **And that reminds me, I haven't actually told you who Lilly's husband is yet, but it's not particularly hard to guess. It is a character from the games and not an OC, but I'm guessing the change in last names (Teddy's last name is Worthington, remember?) may have confused you. Haha! Give me a couple more chapters, then I'll spill the beans. :)**

 **Also, as you may have figured, this is the current Kat theory I'm working with for the fic. Layton marries a woman who already has a child called Kat and she grows up knowing only him as her Father, however I'm currently assuming that the Lady Layton games will reveal all and I like things to be accurate with the games because I'm odd like that. And so, yeah, I'm hesitant to introduce my theory to this fic, even though I suppose I can keep Lillyesque a bit more different from the games...**

 **Tell me what you think about it in a review! :)**

 **Nikki~**


	17. Bonding Over Breakfast

**AN: SO! I just realised I haven't featured Emmy in this at all which is crazy because Emmy is a BIG part of Lilly's life and is one of her biggest role models for the years that Altava's the Professor's assistant. SO! I better do some writing about that, eh?**

* * *

Lillyesque

Bonding Over Breakfast

 _12th June 1962_

It was not uncommon for Lilly to sleep through her alarm, for the clock was rusty, had been bought at a second hand shop and the ring not particularly high-pitched and lasted for approximately five seconds. The Professor had offered many times to purchase a new one for Lilly that would work much more efficiently, but Lilly always declined the offer, saying that the rusty silver alarm clock fitted the style of her bedroom perfectly. Besides, nine out of ten times, it did its job and woke the fourteen year old up in time for school.

Today, was one of those one out of ten times that the alarm clock did not work effectively. To make matters worse, it was a Tuesday. On Tuesdays, the Professor left for work fifteen minutes for Lilly's alarm was set to go off. This meant, that unlike other days of the week, that the Professor was not there to knock on the door and wake her up.

Lilly's alarm had been due to go off at seven fifteen. It was now eight-o-five and Lilly's bus was due to depart the bus stop that was located at the end of the street where the Layton's lived, in two minutes at eight-o-seven. This made matters even more problematic, because the end of the street was a five minute walk. Or, as it would be this morning, a three minute sprint whilst Lilly crossed her fingers and hoped that the bus would be at least a minute late. And this was why Lilly was running downstairs whilst simultaneously brushing her dark brown hair (she had the exact shame shade of brown hair as her Father, though his was often hard to see under his top hat) with the buttons of her school blouse done up wonky, so that the collar of the blouse was lop-sided. Lilly was about to kick on her black school shoes, pick up her school bag and run, but she was stopped.

"Hey! Slow down there, kiddo!" Emmy Altava, her Father's new assistant who Lilly (and Layton for that matter) had recently met whilst on their way to Misthallery. "What's the rush? Don't you want some breakfast?"

"Bus..." Lilly panted. She was already out of breath. How on earth was she going to make it to the bus stop if she was already out of breath.

"Don't worry about that. I've got your Father's car," Emmy grinned. "I can drive you. In fact, that's the whole reason I have the Laytonmobile. I'm driving you to school today."

Lilly was more than happy to stop running. She dropped her hair brush into her school bag and stood up as she caught her breath.

"Really?" Lilly asked.

"Yep!" Emmy grinned. "And from what your Father told me, we don't have to leave until eight thirty five if we're going to get you to school on time, right?"

"Right..." Lilly confirmed with a nod and a rather out of breath reply.

"Well, that's perfect considering I was just going to make some pancakes. What do you say?" Emmy offered.

"Um... Sure," Lilly said with a surprised sort of smile. "If you're offering."

"Great," the personal assistant beamed, before making her way into the kitchen.

Lilly followed after her, rather confused. Emmy was her Father's new personal assistant; not his housekeeper and most certainly not her babysitter (not that she was complaining about the prospect of pancakes for breakfast). She didn't think the job description for a personal assistant included the role of running errands considered personal, such as driving your employer's daughter to school. She'd have thought that Emmy would be doing jobs at the University, such as scheduling meetings and fetching tea.

"Do you not have work to be doing at the University?" Lilly asked as she sat down at the dining table, which was already laid out.

"Not yet," Emmy said, taking a piece of paper out of her pocket and placing it on the table in front of the teenager. "According to this timetable your Father gave me, I'm not needed until half past nine."

"Papa gave you instructions?" Lilly frowned.

"Only after I told him, too," Emmy responded, mixing together the ingredients for pancakes in a bowl.

"You told Papa what to do?" Lilly said, wide-eyed, almost laughing at the idea of it. "But you're his assistant. Isn't he supposed to tell you what to do?"

"Well, it rather is hard to follow his instructions when he doesn't give any," Emmy replied. "So, I insisted he made one, and my first instruction of the day is to take you to school."

Lilly looked down at the piece of paper. Sure enough, Emmy was right.

 _Emmy's Jobs_

 _Drive the Laytonmobile from Gressenheller University to my home by 08:00 and drive Lilly to Gressenheller's Secondary School for Girls (she can give directions). It's best to leave by 08:35 due to rush hour traffic. Please note, Lilly may be running late and do wake her up if she is still asleep. Her bedroom is the only room to the left of the staircase._

Lilly rolled her eyes at the amount of detail in the instructions, before looking up at Emmy.

"It doesn't say anything in here about making me breakfast," Lilly noted.

"Would you prefer it if I didn't make you pancakes?" Emmy asked with a cheeky smile, looking over her shoulder after pouring some of the mix into the pan.

"No... It's just... You don't have to, so why are you doing it?" Lilly queried, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, I thought we may as well get along, considering now that I'm your Father's assistant we'll be spending a lot of time together," Emmy explained, expertly flipping the cooking batter up into the air and back into the pan. "So, I thought what's the best way to become friends with someone? To make an effort. So... Pancakes."

"Huh... Well, thanks, but you don't need to make me pancakes to befriend me," Lilly remarked with a small smile.

"But it's gotta help, right?" Emmy smiled, as she made her way over to the dining table and placed a pancake in front of her. "Here. There's plenty of batter left, too, so you can have as many as you like! Well... You don't seem to have anymore eggs, so I can't do more than this batch, but you can have as much as you like of this batch!"

"Thanks," Lilly smiled, taking a scoop of strawberry jam from the jar on the table and spreading it onto the pancake. "You know, I can't remember the last time I had pancakes."

"Not even on pancake day?" Emmy, who was now beginning to cook the second pancake, asked.

"No," Lilly said between bites. "I can't remember Papa ever making them. I can remember my Mother making them a few days before Christmas, but... That was years ago."

Lilly regretted mentioning her Mother instantly; it wasn't a common topic brought up in the household. Both the Laytons wished to speak of her, but were always wary of bringing the topic up, not wanting to upset the other. Lilly would occasionally talk about her Mother at school and with friends, but it was a subject rarely touched upon in her own home, so to do so, even without her Father around, felt strange. Especially when the Christmas she'd mentioned was the last one the three of them- her Father, her Mother and herself- had spent together before her Mother's death, which occurred only a month later.

"Really? Huh, wow, that is a long time ago without pancakes. I don't think I could even go one year without pancakes!" Emmy laughed as she brought the second pancake over. Considering Lilly had just finished her first, it was good timing.

Lilly smiled back, relieved at Emmy's response, though she wasn't sure what else she expected.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Emmy said as she went on to make the third pancake.

"Sure," Lilly nodded, painting her second pancake with a coaat of jam. "Oh, and after the next pancake, don't worry. Three will be enough."

"Okie dokie," Emmy replied, before asking her question. "So, I was wondering, when I researched your Father, I couldn't find any sort of information on a partner. But, he's got a daughter- you. So, if you don't mind me asking, what happened? I mean, there's those photos in the living room..."

Lilly nodded, knowing exactly what photos she was referencing. There were several framed photographs up on the mantlepiece and two on the wall. Lilly was featured in all but one, and that picture was a graduation photo; the day both her parents had graduated from University. They were dressed in red gowns and caps. Lilly had often laughed at the funny shape of the graduation caps when she was younger. The rest of the photographs were of her as a baby, toddler or small child and almost always featured at least one of her parents. Her Mother had framed and put up all of the photographs, hence why there were none of her older than seven.

"Mama died six years ago," Lilly told her, with a small shrug. Emmy could tell that she was saddened to say this, however she did not appear pained. She supposed that the pain of the death would have faded with time and due to Lilly's young age at the time of the loss. Emmy knew how that worked from personal experience. "A traffic incident of some sort."

"Do you remember it happening?" Emmy asked.

"I was at school when it happened," Lilly replied and put her cutlery down. "I can remember the day, though. It had been snowing a few days beforehand. The roads were still icy, so a car couldn't break in time, when Mama slipped over on the road, because she'd been running to work as she was late. She'd gone home for lunch."

Lilly had only been told the story once and that had been six and a half years ago, when her Mother had died. Yet, she could remember what her Father had said very well, however, she could also remember not being able to understand it whatsoever at the time. Her grandparents, who had recently moved to the London suburbs, had been the ones to explain the concept of death to her as their son had grieved.

"I'm sorry," Emmy said as she placed the third pancake down and then sat at the table across from Lilly. "I lost my Mum when I was five. My Dad, too. A fire."

"Who did you grow up with?" Lilly asked, not yet touchig the third pancake. "After your parents died."

"My Uncle raised me," Emmy responded with a small nod, before she put her elbows on the table, rested her head in her hands and seemed to drift away in thought.

Lilly took this as her queue to stop the conversation, which appearred to have taken quite a morbid turn, and finished off her breakfast.

"Oh, by the way," Lilly said after she'd finished. "You know that research you did on Papa? The things you said about him that you'd found out? You guessed him to be Capricorn. He's Leo. His birthday's the twentieth of August. He likes red wine, assam tea and dark chocolate. He already owns too money teapots, too. Be sure to keep that in mind."

Emmy grinned and let out a chuckle. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be sure, too."

* * *

 **AN: So, I finally got around to writing a one-shot about Lilly and Emmy! Yay! :D**

 **Also, I've just gotten back from holiday, but this week appears to be busy and I go on holiday again on Friday to go and visit my dad and his family, so updates will most likely continue to be sporadic. Sorry, folks.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!**

 **Nikki~**


	18. You Put The Hard Work In

**AN: The plot line on how Alfendi came into Layton's life can be found in my one-shot _Safe To Smile._ That theory is the one used in Lilly's storyline, too, and I will write a version of _Safe To Smile_ with Lilly for this fic. **

**This is set 3 years before Spectre's Call.**

* * *

Lillyesque

You Put The Hard Work In...

 _15th September 1959_

Lilly quietly peeked through the gap into her brother's room, watching the sixteen year old as he packed his clothes into a large suitcase. There was only a small gap where the door was open, but Lilly could still see that the room was much bearer than it had been the day before. It really wasn't a joke, or a lie, or a threat, or something else that Alfendi would say when he was angry. He really was leaving. Lilly could just about see half of his face and from that she could make out his expression. He didn't look sad or angry or anything like that. He didn't seem to _look_ anything.

"I know you're there, Lillian," Alfendi suddenly said, without turning around to face the eleven year old and instead just continuing in his packing.

"Can I come in?" Lilly asked hopefully, pushing the door wider.

"Sure," Alfendi replied after a brief pause.

Lilly could have sworn she heard him sigh before he spoke, but she ignored it and sat herself on his bed, next to the half-filled suitcase. She watched him pack several more items of clothing, each one as crumpled as the last. Lilly frowned at this.

"You'd be able to fit more stuff in there if you folded things," Lilly remarked after several moments of silence. Alfendi hadn't said a thing. He hadn't even looked over her. That was, until she spoke.

"I would," Alfendi replied, with a small nod, however his voice lacked any enthusiasm. "Luckily, I don't have many things. And I don't like packing. It will get done quicker this way."

"But they'll all need ironing," Lilly pointed out.

"They're inanimate objects, Lillian. They don't _need_ anything," Alfendi protested. "People merely prefer creaseless clothes. I, on the other hand, don't mind if my clothes are creased."

"I guess," Lilly shrugged, noting the number of creases on her older brother's shirt. She lost count rather quickly, as many of the creases branched off to form several other creases, and his shirt was covered in them. It was like a tree, or a spider's web, perhaps.

With a sigh, Alfendi shut his suitcase and then pushed it to the back off his bed, allowing him to sit beside his sister.

"What's wrong?" Alfendi asked.

There were several things that Lilly liked about Alfendi. One of them, was that he never said "how are you?" or "are you all right?". He knew when something was wrong. Especially when it came to the young girl. She didn't even have to overplay her sadness in front of Alfendi for him to pick up on her blues. He just knew.

Whenever Alfendi asked what was wrong, Lilly would always tell him, but this time she was rather hesitant. She pursed her lips and looked down. Her legs swung in the air.

"Lilly?" Alfendi tried again. "Is it to do with me?"

It was Lilly's turn to sigh as she juggled the decision to answer the question. Alfendi's assumption was, of course, completely accurate. Alfendi, her big brother, was moving. He was leaving the household, and in doing so, he was leaving her. The two didn't always seem eye to eye, but there were other times when they were thicker than thieves. Besides, it was thanks to Alfendi that Lilly no longer felt so alone.

"I'm sorry I'm leaving, Lillian," Alfendi said after the eleven year old only responded with silence. "It's not because of you."

"Then why?" Lilly asked, a rather whining tone to her voice. "Why are you leaving?"

"Because..." Alfendi thought for a moment. "Because it's easier. Lillian, you've known that I was going to university for nearly a year now."

"But you're going to Papa's university!" Lilly exclaimed. "Why can't you just go in the car with Papa everyday to university?"

"Quite simply because we would drive each other mad," Alfendi said with a small smile, hoping to bring some humour to the conversation. Unfortunately, amusements weren't his strong suit and Lilly was too young to understand that type of humour. She still took everything too literally. And so, he decided to carry on attempting to console his sister. However, neither was consoling a talent of his. "Lillian, I'm sorry. You'll still see me. I'll visit you and maybe even take you out to places. You can come and visit me at the university, too. You know where your Father's office is, yes? Well, I'm going to be living in the halls of residence at the university. Whenever you go to your Father's office after school, you can always come and see me, too, if you want."

Lilly rubbed her nose as she felt a round of tears begin to attack her sinuses.

"Is it because your old home that you're moving?" Lilly asked.

"Sort of," Alfendi answered.

"How is it sort of?" Lilly questioned, looking up at Alfendi.

"Well..." Alfendi pondered. "It's strange and it's hard to explain. I do miss my old home and I do miss my parents a great deal. Just like you. You miss your Mother, don't you?"

"Lots," Lilly nodded. "But I don't understand why that means that you're leaving."

"It's because..." Alfendi paused. He didn't normally sugar coat things for his sister. He didn't think it would do her any good, but this time, he couldn't tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her that although she was a great sister, she still wasn't his sister. And that although her Father was a great Father, he wasn't his Father. "It's because I went from having one family to another. And I think maybe I should just let myself be by myself for a while. I won't be lonely, because I've still got you. And Father. But... I want to be by myself for a while. Does that make sense?"

It didn't. At all. But Lilly nodded, because she could tell that her brother was hiding something. He didn't normally do that, and so Lilly assumed that if he was doing it this time, it must be for an important reason.

"So... Was that why you worked so hard to go to university early?" Lilly asked. For Alfendi was only sixteen and so two years younger than most first year university students.

"No," Alfendi chuckled slightly, sweeping his red hair out of his face. "I worked so hard because I wanted something. And when you want something, you work hard to get it. It's like when you do your try really hard to get them finished, because you know how great they'll be when they're finished."

"So what was it that you wanted so badly?" Lilly asked.

"Why, to be a police officer, of course," Alfendi smiled.

"And that's why you're going to university? So you can learn to be a police officer?"

"Yes. I'm going to study criminology," Alfendi nodded.

There was a moment of silence between the two. Then, Lilly suddenly wrapped her arms around her brother's waist, which caused him to jump a great deal. The siblings weren't usually intimate, due to Alfendi's dislike physical contact. This time, however- though he paused to balance himself after the shock of the sudden hug- he reached around and patted the girl's back.

"We'll still see each other. I promise."

* * *

 **AN: I have several ideas for Alfendi chapters in this fic. I have plenty ideas of them as adults, but I have several ideas of them as kids, too. Namely, where they meet for the first time. I have a whole list of ideas- perhaps a hundred of ideas. And this is only number 18...**

 **A review would be great!**

 **Nikki~**


	19. He Took His Time

Lillyesque

He Took His Time

 _22nd May 1974_

It would have been a rather normal afternoon in the Worthington household, had it not been Flora's twenty second birthday.

Lilly had spent three of the last night's hours to do her best to decorate the house, but decorating in the dark and having to do so as quietly as possible, so as to avoid waking up her three year old son and, of course, her sister, who was the reason behind the decorations, was rather difficult. After several attempts, Lilly had managed to pin up a large banner (which she'd made herself) and throwing some sequins and confetti around the table was obviously a simple task, but when it came to the balloons, she'd struggled. This was a simple task, but Lilly could not seem to blow up all of the balloons- some seemed to be a lot less stretchy than others, meaning that they needed much more puff- and then, once she'd finally managed to blow up a balloon, she spent the next fifteen minutes trying to tie a knot to keep all the air in. It was a very fiddly task indeed and as a seamstress, she expected to have new issues at all. Instead, she'd found herself wishing her husband was not in York for a week for work and was here to help.

Luckily enough, none of the family, who had all come to visit for Flora's birthday dinner, seemed to notice the decorations (or lack of) and were all very busy talking, entertaining (or being entertained by) the three youngest members of the family, Polly, Katrielle and Teddy, and eating the food that Lilly had set out.

"You've organised quite a get together," The Professor remarked as Lilly moved around some half-cooked roast potatoes and then put them back into the oven.

"She does the same for me," Lilly replied with a smile. "The only difference is the cooking's better for this party."

"I won't tell her you said that," The Professor replied with a grin. "Oh, and have you heard from Luke? He's not arrived yet. I thought that surely he would be hear from breakfast."

"Oh- err... He's got something to do with his internship to do this morning," Lilly told him with a shrug. "He'll be here later. Soonish, I imagine."

Luke and Flora had been courting for over three years now; more or less, ever since Luke returned from France and began studying alongside Flora at Gressenheller University. They of course had completed different courses. Flora had studied Anthropology and Luke had studied Veterinary Science, but the two spent an awful lot of time together, nevertheless. They'd graduated nearly a year ago now and were still together. It made perfect sense to Layton that Luke would be the first one over to celebrate Flora's birthday. Everyone else had arrived over an hour ago. Himself; Alfendi, Lucy and their daughter Polly; his parents; his wife and her daughter Katrielle; and Desmond were all here.

The Professor and Lilly made there way back into the garden were everybody was celebrating and the two looked over at the large family, that neither had ever thought they'd have. Half of the family was sat on picnic blankets and the other, elder members of the family, were sitting on the chairs. Alfendi and Lucy were sitting crossed legged on the picnic blanket laughing as Alfendi unsuccessfully tried to throw berries into Lucy's mouth. Desmond and Helen, Hershel's new wife, was sitting on a garden chair next to the blanket, talking to Polly with enthusiasm etched across his face; Lilly wondered if he was telling him a story from one of hiss many adventures and expeditions.. Lucille was laughing and playing the "I've got your nose!" game with Teddy, whilst Katrielle sat on Roland's lap making a daisy chain. Lilly's smile turned into a frown when she couldn't spot Flora.

"Hang on," Lilly said and turned around to make her way back inside. "Oh, and make sure Teddy doesn't eat any dirt."

Lilly shook her head and made her way back inside and up the stairs. She knocked on Flora's bedroom door.

"Flora? Are you here?" Lilly called through the door.

"Yes, I'm here," Flora called back.

Lilly pressed down on the door handle and entered the bedroom which had been Flora's for four years now. She chuckled slightly at the sight of her now twenty-two year old sister, as she stared in the mirror at her new dress, which Lilly had made her for her birthday present.

"Did I get your measurements wrong?" Lilly asked.

"Slightly..." Flora nodded, pulling at the excess material at her waist.

"Hold on," Lilly said, before disappearing to retrieve a sewing kit from her bedroom room, returning in a matter of seconds. "Here we go. I'll sort it."

"Now?" Flora said. "Won't Luke be here soon? You said he'd be here at three."

"Yes... Exactly," Lilly muttered, looking over at the clock. It was forty minutes past two. She had twenty minutes. "Now..."

"Why couldn't he come earlier again?" Flora questioned as Lilly pulled the excess fabric together, inverted in and pinned it together.

"Extra pair of hands was needed at the vets this morning. Someone called in sick and Luke was the only one who could cover," Lilly explained, threading the needle with a pink thread that matched the colour of the dress.

"Oh, okay..." Flora nodded.

"Don't worry. He'll be here soon," Lilly replied, holding the needle close to the fabric, ready to dart it. "Now, stay still. I don't want to stab you with the needle."

There was several moments of silence whilst Lilly focused on adjusting the waist on the dress and _not_ poking her sister with the sharp needle. It was a pretty dress. Lilly had used the same colour of her normal peachy pink dresses, but had changed the style and made it a bit more modern. The skirt was rather tight and came to her knees and the sleeves were flared and just passed down her elbows. The neckline was high, which was how Flora liked it. Lilly had been sure to keep that in mind. Flora stared at her dress in the mirror, half-watching Lilly tighten the waistline, before hesitantly speaking.

"Do you want me to move out?" Flora asked.

"What?" Lilly frowned, glancing up for only a second. "What are you saying? Of course I don't."

"Are you sure?"

"Adamant," Lilly replied, pulling the pin out from where it had kept the dress safely pinned up and then standing up. "Why are you asking?"

"Because... I only moved in to save money on student residence halls," Flora replied. "I graduated a year ago."

"You work hard," Lilly shrugged. "You pay rent, you help me out in my shop from time to time, you look after and play with Teddy, and most importantly, you're my sister. Why would you think I'd want you to leave? If you were scrounging of me then it would be a different story. I like having you here Flora. So does Teddy. He's only ever known you being here. When you move out, it's going to break both our hearts."

"You said when," Flora pointed out.

"What?"

"You said 'when you move out'. As if you're suggesting that I am about to move out. As if you want me to move out."

"I also said that it's going to break my heart," Lilly sighed and put her hand on Flora's shoulder. "Happy birthday, Flora."

Flora smiled faintly.

"Now," Lilly said. "I'm going to sort out some more food. Why don't you head back out to the garden. Check that no one's taken their eyes of Teddy and let him eat any dirt."

Lilly sighed a second, quieter, time, as she left Flora's bedroom and made her way down stairs and into the kitchen. The roast potatoes should be done by now. She was busy setting out a dish for them when she suddenly heard small footsteps running towards her and quickly shut the oven to avoid burns and crashes.

"Mama!" Teddy cried, running into the kitchen. Lilly quickly scooped him up into her arms, to make sure he didn't hurt himself in a room filled with heated up ovens and sharp knifes.

"Hello, sweetie. What are you doing here?" Lilly asked her three year old son, as Helen made her way into the kitchen with a slightly sped up walk.

"Sorry, Lilly. I tried to catch up with him," Helen, who Lilly was finding it hard to believe was now her Stepmother, said. "He wanted to come and find you."

"Don't worry about it,"Lilly laughed. "He likes to run about and he's very fast for such little legs!" Lilly teased, tickling the toddler's knees, causing him to squirm slightly.

"Katrielle's with Polly in the garden. They seem to be getting along well," Helen remarked.

"That's good. They have met before though, haven't they?"

"Yes, they have... You know, I find it so remarkable how normal Polly is in comparison with her parents. Not that they're both not lovely..." Helen quickly corrected herself, not wanting to sound rude.

Lilly chuckled and sat Teddy down on the kitchen counter.

"It's called the Lilly effect," Lilly smiled. "Alfendi's bad craziness combines with Lucy's good craziness and together, they make an ordinarily crazy little girl. Like, with my parent's. My Mother is the only person to have travelled in time. My Father is one of the most renowned archaeologist's in the world. I, however, am a shopkeeper. Polly and me, you see, we got fed up of seeing too much madness, so we rebelled in our own way."

"Makes sense," Helen laughed. "What about Teddy then?"

"Well, me and his Father are rather normal now, I suppose. It depends on how much my Father influences him," Lilly replied. "My bet is that Luke and Flora's children will experience the so called Lilly effect. Alfendi, came up with that phrase by the way."

"You think that Luke and Flora will have children?" Helen asked.

"Definitely," Lilly nodded. "Flora can't wait."

Just at that moment, the doorbell rang and Lilly was met with calls from all over the house.

"Someone's at the door!" Teddy cried, pointing towards the door.

"I'll get it!" Flora called, before the sound of her fast-paced footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Lilly smiled softly and picked Teddy up from the counter and placed him on the floor. He ran towards the door as soon as his feet were placed on the ground.

"That'll be him now," Lilly said, knowingly, before making her way towards the front door.

The sight that lay before Lilly was so picture perfect that Lilly was frustrated that the camera was up in York, with her husband. The rest of the family had heard the doorbell ring and had all hurried towards the front door, too, it appeared. It was as if they all knew exactly what was going to happen, but it was more likely that people were eager to greet Luke. Everyone stood in the doorway that lead from the living room to the hallway and they were all staring in the same direction; the front door.

Where Luke was crouching on one knee, with a small, open box, with something sparkly inside, sitting on his palm. Flora stood in front of him, her eyes glistening with tears and her hands clasped over her mouth.

"Yes! Yes, of course!" Flora cried.

Everyone ruptured into an applause as the two flung their arms around each other and hugged tightly.

"If you ask me," Lilly said under the sound of the applause, to Helen, "I think he took his time with that. I honestly thought he was going to ask her last birthday."

"You can't rush these things, dear," Helen replied. "How long have you known that he was going to...?"

"How did you know that I knew?" Lilly asked.

Helen shrugged with a cheeky smile. "I have my ways, but the fact that you made Flora the dress was what sparked the idea. I assume you want her to ask you to help with dress. The fact that he was coming later, too..."

"Ah..." Lilly nodded. "He asked my permission in March," Lilly responded. "He didn't want to steal her from me. She's been here a few years now and... I'll miss her. He knows that. She's my sister."

"She'll still be around," Helen replied. "It didn't change things between you and her when you got married, did it?"

"I guess not," Lilly shook her head. "What is it with all these weddings, anyway? There was Alf and Lucy, mine, yours and Father's and now..."

"Well, dear, everybody gets a happy ending."

* * *

 **AN: Fanfiction seems to be incredibly quiet at the moment; I've received barely any views and no reviews for a few weeks. It kinda reduced the pressure to update on time whilst settling into my new home, but if you are reading, it would be great if you could let me know someone's still reading and post a review! :)  
**

 **Have a good day, folks.**

 **Nikki~**


	20. Defining Abnormal

Lillyesque

Defining Abormal  


 _2nd August, 1964_

Lilly frowned as she heard a loud sneeze from behind the door to the spare room. It was August. The idea that someone could become sick with a cold in the hottest month of the year was ridiculous and it was even more so when it was taken into consideration that no one else in all of London was sick. Yet, somehow, the latest addition to the household, Flora Reinhold, was sick and had been for several weeks.

"Should I bring her some tea, perhaps," Lilly suggested as she made her way into the kitchen and put the kettle on to make some coffee for herself.

The Professor looked up from that morning's edition of the London Times. It was barely eight in the morning, yet he was dressed from head to toe; that included his shoes and top hat. Lilly, on the other hand, was in a robe with bare feet and had rollers in her hair.

"She might like that, yes," The Professor nodded with a smile. "Would you mind putting on some for me, too?"

Lilly peered over at the empty plate and cup on the table in front of her Father.

"A second pot?" Lilly said with a rather cheeky smile. "My, you really do spoil yourself when you're on holiday, don't you?"

"I do,"The Professor chuckled, folding his newspaper and then putting it down. "And you sound more and more like your Mother every day."

Lilly smiled, but said nothing and turned around to the kitchen counter to search for food for breakfast. She was never sure how to respond whenever her Father said something about her Mother, or even compared her to the late woman. What she wanetd to say was 'I wouldn't know' as she really had very few memories of her Mother. She could remember her seventh birthday, her last birthday before her Mother's death; playing it the snow weeks, or perhaps even days, before her Mother's death; she could remember running into the sea without sun cream on and getting an extraordinary sunburn across her back, forehead and shoulders and being told off for doing so by her Mother, on the last family holiday they had. She had a few other vague memories of her Mother laughing, working at the living room desk and tucking her in at night. Her Mother's voice, however, she could not remember. She had no idea how much she sounded like her Mother, or whether she even sounded like her at all.

It was uncommon for her Father to mention her Mother. Or rather it used to be. Over the past few months, what with her Father finding out more about his past and Flora moving in, the Professor would mention his late wife more and more often. Lilly had always wanted to speak about her Mother, but now that her Father was finally trying to, Lilly wasn't sure how to react.

"That reminds me," Lilly said, as she retrieved some bread and put it in the toaster. "I need to write back to my Grandparents today."

"Your Mother's parents?" The Professor checked. Lilly was one of the few young adults that had two sets of living grandparents.

"Well, both actually," Lilly replied. "Grandma Marie much prefers a letter to a phone call, whereas your parents are more than happy with either, as long as they hear from me once a week or so. I'll telephone them later and write to Grandma Marie and Grandpa later, too."

"Are they still writing regularly themselves?" The Professor asked.

"They are," Lilly said, coming to sit down at the kitchen table with a plate of toast and placing a cup of tea besides her Father. "They want me to go and visit them over the next couple of weeks."

"Thank you," The Professor said, gesturing to the cup of tea. "Will you?"

"Will I go and visit them?" Lilly confirmed. "I don't think so. Not at the moment, anyway."

"Why not?" The Professor frowned. "They haven't seen you in over a year. I'm sure they miss you."

"I know," Lilly nodded. "I just don't particularly enjoy myself down in Hedgecliff."

"You loved it when you were a child," The Professor pointed out.

Thinking back, Lilly realised that her memory of getting severely burnt and subsequently told off by her Mother, occurred in her grandparents' hometown of Hedgecliff. They lived by the coast and were a ten minute walk from the beach and a fairground which visited Hedgecliff every Summer. Lilly would visit every Summer, before her Mother's passing and after her Mother's passing. The journey was three hours or so away by train and she'd taken the trip herself for the past 5 years or so in order to visit her maternal Grandparents for two weeks or so every Summer. This year, however, she had yet to make plans to go over.

"I'm not a child anymore," She shrugged. "Besides, I work now. I've just started. I can't just go and take time off already, can I?"

"Strictly speaking, every employee is entitled to holiday, but it's your choice," The Professor replied.

Lilly knew perfectly well that he was trying to encourage her to go and visit her Grandparents, in how own way. She shrugged it off. She hated visiting them. She hated the way they looked at her and saw her Mother's eyes in her own. She hated how they did nothing but talk about how they would say 'Your Mother was exactly the same when she was your age' and tell stories about her Mother and seemingly talk about nothing else. On her journeys home, she didn't leave feeling closer to her Mother like everyone expected her to. Instead, she returned feeling sick with sadness and loss, as if she'd never been given the chance to grieve.

"What other plans have you got today?" The Professor asked, snapping Lilly away from her thoughts.

"I'm meeting Aunt Brenda for lunch and then we're going to have a look through some stores for different material," Lilly replied. She was making a habit of collecting different materials at the moment, as she was planning to start her own business as a seamstress. "Then, I'm working from five pm until nine pm. The dinner shift." She was working part-time at a bistro as a waitress in order to fund the starting up of her business.

"Out with Brenda, you say?"

"Yes. Clark and Luke are still on that trip and she's not enjoying being alone in the house. Must have been horrible for her spending a month locked in a basement."

"Quite," The Professor said. "I'm sure she'll have a fine time out for lunch with you."

Lilly nodded and the conversation dissolved into silence, as it always would do eventually when talking with her Father- especially when one of them had a point they were trying to get through.

"Now..." The Professor said, picking back up his newspaper. From the tone of his voice, Lilly suspected that this was the point he'd been planning to get onto. "Look at this here..."

"A new mystery to solve?" Lilly queried, looking over at the page her Father was pointing to.

"Not quite," The Professor said, pointing to a picture of a large cave that appeared to be lying at the bottom of a cliffside. "Read this. Explorer and Archaeologist Doctor Desmond Sycamore has discovered ruins, suspected to be ceremonial grounds for a religious cult, in a hidden cavern in Hedgecliff."

"Desmond Sycamore... Your... Brother?" Lilly frowned. "In Hedgecliff. Where Grandad and Grandma Marie live?"

"Yes," The Professor nodded. "I read about it this morning. Amazing, yes?"

"I suppose," Lilly nodded. "Have you not heard anything from your brother since the whole, err, Azran incident?"

"I haven't, no," The Professor shook his head. "I wasn't really expecting to, either."

"Do you wish he would?"

"I... Wouldn't turn down the offer to resume some type of communication with him," The Professor replied in a funny way, as if he was trying to hide the fact that he thought about finding a way to contact his brother frequently.

"Can you remember him from when you were little? Or your real parents?" Lilly asked, mainly out of curiosity.

"My parents not at all. I wasn't even four," The Professor replied. "Desmond, barely. Only when we said goodbye, and I only remembered that recently."

"But you knew that you were adopted?"

"I did, yes," The Professor responded. "Now, what's with all the questions?"

"I'm just curious..." Lilly said with a small shrug. "I'm trying to figure out why you brought the article up."

"Why, because it's surprising to see a story about my estranged brother working in a place you know so well!" The Professor chuckled.

"It's not just that. You would have brought it up sooner than just a moment ago if that was the case. And you would have sounded more excited," Lilly replied.

The Professor opened his mouth to speak, but instead shook his head.

"You're planning on going to Hedgecliff, aren't you?" Lilly said with a suspicious look on her face. "You were going to ask me to come with you, weren't you...?"

"No, I didn't," The Professor shook his head. "I didn't know that you were already decided on not going to Hedgecliff. I was thinking that we could travel down there together and go our separate ways whilst there, but then you-"

"I can tell when you're lying," Lilly interrupted.

"... Oh..."

"Did you read my mail?" Lilly said, her voice slow and tone accusing.

"No, of course not. I simply noticed the post mark on a letter addressed to you a few days ago. I knew it was from your Mother's parents, and because you hadn't mentioned making plans to go to Hedgecliff like you do every August... I simply put two and two together."

"Hmm..." Lilly thought for a moment. "I'll think about it."

"Good..."

Lilly shook her head and sighed. She took a sip of her coffee and then sighed again.

"We're not a normal family are we?" Lilly said, a hint of humour and another hint of frustration in her voice.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well... Your biological parents, you Father at the least, was insane. Your seven year old brother gave up a home and a family for you. And as for me, my Mother is dead and my Father is famous for finding mythical places and voluntarily takes me out of school twice a year for explorations and adventures."

"Define normal," The Professor said with a smile.

"I can't. I don't know normal," Lilly giggled. "My family has been too busy defining abnormal and dysfunctional family life since before I was born."

The Professor laughed. He knew that she was right.

"Still, I know someone who's got a worse family," Lilly said.

"Who?"

Lilly gestured to the second floor, where Flora still was in bed due to her illness, with a faint smile.

"She's been sick ever since she came to London, all because of her immune system. Or, lack of," Lilly began. "I mean, her parents built an entire village, that was completely isolated, in the middle of nowhere, in order to keep their daughter away from the rest of the world... I mean, doesn't that sound mad to you?"

The Professor sighed.

"I know it does," He said. "In all honesty, I don't know what their true motives were, but I'm sure whatever they were, they were good reasons. Eitherway, this is one of the main reasons it's very important that we tell no one about St Mystere."

"I know," Lilly sighed, looking upwards as they heard the persistent sound of someone coughing from upstairs. "No one else I know is sick. There's no virus going round at the moment..."

"But there has been in the past," The Professor pointed out. "In fact, there's been many around over the past year. Some small, some slightly worse. Either way, due to Flora's lack of immune system, she can't fight the small ones off like we can, and the bigger ones, which cause symptoms and that we may have suffered from over the course of the year, we can no longer contract because we've already had them once. Our antibodies know how to fight the viruses. Flora's don't. So, all the viruses that have been around this year, are still airborne and perhaps even carried between us. We have no idea, but when the viruses get to Flora, she gets ill."

"I suppose," She shrugged. She didn't particularly understand or like science. "But, she'll be all right, though?"

"Once her immune system builds up, she should, yes," The Professor assured.

"That reminds me," Lilly said, standing up. "I said I'd make her some tea."

"You do that, dear," The Professor said, picking up his newspaper. "Oh, and then be sure to write to your Grandparents. Tell them we'll be down late next week. I suspect Flora will be better by then and she can come to. I'm sure she'll love the sea."

"But-"

"It would be nice to see my brother again. And I'm sure you want to see your Grandparents again. We may all be abnormal and dysfunctional, Lilly, but that doesn't mean we're not family."

* * *

 **AN: This oneshot may be a bit tedious and boring, but the theme sort of changed whilst I was writing it. Originally, it was going to be about Flora's family history and Lilly and Layton discussing that, but then I got side-tracked and started talking about the Layton/Bronev family tree! :)**

 **A review would make me super happy! :)**

 **Nikki~**


	21. Blackmail

**AN: Set shortly after 2nd chapter: Do You Love Her?**

* * *

Lillyesque

Blackmail

 _10th August 1962_

It was a hot Summer. A very hot one at that. In the Mystery Room, Alfendi had opened all windows and had installed a large fan he bought from a store, because Scotland Yard's air conditioning system was in all honesty, rubbish. More cold air could be generated by a fly's wings, and Alfendi had the evidence to prove that; for the smell of a hot and busy city was indeed a rotten one, and flies were crowded the darkest of corners and that of course included the Mystery Room.

Alfendi, as always, had a lot of paperwork to, which was one of the lesser perks of his career as an Inspector. He was dying for a new case to crack, but the Superintendent was refusing to send one to his department unless he got through at least half of his paperwork, before he added anymore to the pile that was growing on his desk.

In a grumbling fashion, Alfendi was bent over his desk, scribbling and scrawling, writing the exact amount he needed to, so he wouldn't have to rewrite them if they were found to be dissatisfactory by his superior, and so he wouldn't be wasting anymore time than necessary. He couldn't wait to get the paperwork over and done with. Nevertheless, he was glad when the door opened, so he would have a reasonable excuse for a quick break... Even when he saw who it was.

"Lillian? How did you get in here?" The Inspector frowned. "Don't say 'the door'. You need a security card."

"I asked the receptionist to buzz me down here," Lilly, who very much hated being called Lillian, shrugged.

"And she just let you?" Alfendi furrowed his brow.

"Well, I asked nicely... Just kidding, I told her I was your sister and then she remembered seeing me here before."

"Of course she did... Typical. I should technically report her for that."

"For letting your own sister into your office?"

Alfendi sighed, but then gave a smile. A slight one. After all, he was glad to push his mountain of paperwork to the side for a short while.

"What do you want?" He asked his sister, who had taken the liberty to take a seat in his office.

"Just to chat," Lilly replied with an innocent smile. "Nothing in particular."

"That's a lie," Alfendi smirked. "I'm an Inspector and you're a rubbish liar."

Lilly paused.

"Where's your DC? Lucy, wasn't it...?"

"It's her day off," Alfendi replied. "I have no cases at the moment. Just paperwork."

"So, you don't mind me being here for a bit?"

"It all depends on your motives."

"My motives?"

"Yes. Everyone has a motive for doing everything. Every robber, killer, dealer... They all have their motives. Usually money. Is that yours, too?"

"Well, I've not robbed, killed or dealt," Lilly replied with a strange look, before sighing and shaking her head. She was used to her brother. "Look, I just... Need a tiny favour and I'll do pretty much anything you want me to in return."

"What do you want?" Alfendi said, with a roll of his eyes.

Lilly took a deep breath.

"You know how our Father can be sometimes... In terms of not letting Flora go with us on adventures, and it not letting me go some places that I may want to go to. With friends..."

"Are you saying you want to go to a party, but don't think that your Father's going to let you and so in turn, want me to tell your Father something like you're with me," Alfendi said, not even having to wait for Lilly to nod in response; he knew he was right. "Which is a ridiculous idea, because what on earth would we be doing together?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could say we're going to the cinema, or... You need to use me as bait to catch some serial killer?" Lilly suggested.

"And your Father would prefer that to you going to a party, would he?" Alfendi pointed out.

"Well, we say the cinema then. I'll be home by eleven, just a few hours, I need you to make up something... Or, just at least cover for me... Please...?"

Alfendi sighed. He supposed this was his job as an elder brother. He didn't want to particularly have to lie for her, but then again it wasn't like he was doing a bad thing. After all, one of the reasons his relationship with his adopted Father was so strained was because how over-protective he could be at the strangest of times for the strangest of reasons. The Professor encouraged Lilly to come to expeditions and investigations with him, but with the excuse that that was so he could keep an eye on her and so she could be by his side. A teenage party did sound like something he would be against. Even if she kept her promise to be back before eleven (which Alfendi was beginning to think was a little late for a fourteen year old).

"I'll do anything you want... Anything..." Lilly pleaded.

An idea popped into Alfendi's head.

"Right, okay. I have an idea," Alfendi said with a slight hesitant tone.

"Great!" Lilly beamed.

"But... I need you to do something for me in return," Alfendi continued. "And if you tell anyone I've asked you... I'll tell your Father about the party."

"Isn't that blackmail?" Lilly asked.

"It is. But I'm your brother, so it's fine."

"What do you want me to do then?"

"I..." Alfendi sighed. "I need you to tell me how to ask Lucy out for... Dinner."

Lilly frowned.

"You say 'Lucy, are you free this Thursday for dinner?' or something like that," Lilly shrugged.

"No, I mean... I mean...Er..."

"Oh! You mean... Oh! Wait, you... What?" Lilly stuttered, in shock with a gasp at the end of her sentence. "You want to ask Lucy out...?"

Alfendi paused.

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone!"

"I know. I won't... Oh, this is so great!" Lilly beamed and clapped her hands, whilst in contrast, Alfendi sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, this is so brilliant. I always wondered when you'd get a girlfriend and get married and..."

"Okay, moving on, or backwards, as it were," Alfendi cut her off. "I need some advise. How do I ask her... Out. How do I do it?"

"Hmm... I guess you just do it how you think you should," Lilly shrugged. "Everyone says you should just be yourself, and I suppose normally that would be a problem for you, but... Well, I think Lucy likes you. She gave you that nickname, didn't she?"

"'Prof'?"

"Yes, that nickname. Yes, with that nickname, she definitely likes you. So just go for it."

"And say what?"

"You just ask if she wants to go to dinner. It's quite simple really. I imagine so, I mean I've not actually ever been asked to go on a date, but I imagine it would be easy. It's just people get all so nervous, I guess," Lilly shrugged, before smiling. "So my advise would be to just go for it. And don't be nervous."

"You're not keeping up your end of the bargain. This is... I can't do anything with that advise. How am I supposed to not be nervous?"

"Well, that's all the advise I know from magazines and what people say at school. How am I supposed to know how to ask someone out?"

"Okay, how about this: only if Lucy says yes, I'll cover for you so you can go out," Alfendi suggested. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Lilly replied, confidently.

Safe to say, Lilly did indeed get to go to the party.

* * *

 **AN: This was a request from Saorise.**

 **Massive thank you to MabelLover for your lovely review. :)**

 **I shall try and do another update soon, but chances are it will be between 18th December and Christmas.**

 **Reviews are great, folks!**

 **Nikki~**


	22. You'll See Me Soon

**AN: It's been a while. I've been busy and lazy, which isn't a good mix. This update has been posted because someone wanted an update. Though I don't write for reviews, that review really motivated me to write this. So I updated! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

You'll See Me Soon

 _25th November 1970_

Lilly pottered about the kitchen making breakfast, as Flora, made her way down into the room, fully dressed and ready.

"Here," Lilly said, placing a pot of tea on the table. "I'm just making scrambled eggs for you, too. White or brown bread for toast?"

Flora laughed slightly, taking a seat.

"Thank you, but you don't need to do all of this. Isn't the whole part of today supposed to be about you not doing any work?" Flora noted, pouring herself a cup of tea from the pot that Lilly had placed.

"Fine, because you don't answer, you get healthy brown bread," Lilly said smugly, making her way over to the bread bin to take out some bread. "You know, I never actually understood that. I actually prefer brown or granary bread. There's more taste. And the crusts are crunchier."

"Stop trying to change the subject, Lilly," Flora said. "You don't need to make me breakfast, you know. I'm happy to help out with the shop."

Lilly smiled slightly and stopped to listen to Flora, turning around to lean against the kitchen counter. Lilly sighed, and looked down at her seven and a half month bump, delicately putting a hand on it.

"I know, I know you are," Lilly shrugged in a dismissive sort of way, before turning around and placing the bread in the toaster. "I just... I feel kind of bad for asking you to look after it for an entire day."

Lilly sighed again and began to mix the eggs round in the pan. The brunette had a habit for forgetting to actually scramble scrambled eggs, meaning that she made omelettes much more frequently. After picking up a wooden spoon utensil and mashing up the cooked eggs, Lilly put them all on a plate, just as the toast popped up. Lilly dropped them onto the plate and then placed the dish in front of her younger sister.

"Here you go," Lilly said, taking a seat at the kitchen table, opposite Flora. "There's a sandwich in the fridge for you to take too. If you get hungry, close the shop and take a bit of money from the till. There's a lovely bakery across the High Street. Their pastries are to die for."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Lilly," Flora pointed out, beginning to eat. "Selling cushions and tea cosies isn't exactly a taxing job, you know."

"It's taxing enough for my ankles to be the size of grapefruits," Lilly shrugged, beginning to pick some grapes from the fruit bowl. Her morning sickness meant that she could only ever eat fruit in the mornings.

"I think that's more the baby than the shop, you know," Flora commented.

"Yes, you're probably right there..." Lilly smiled slightly, looking down at her her stomach. "Look, I know I've already asked, but are you absolutely certain that you're happy to take care of the shop for me today? I can always just close up for the day..."

"No, you can't. You've said it yourself, it would give the shop an unreliable reputation," Flora reminded, sipping her tea.

"Well, how about I come in just for the morning...?"

"No, you heard what the doctor said: you need rest."

"I'll sit down, then."

"Lilly..." Flora sighed, standing up and taking her plate to the sink. "I'll do the washing when I get home. Don't you worry about it."

Lilly then sighed herself. "It's not fair for you to do all this work for me."

"Why not? I live here, give no money towards living expenses-"

"That's different, Flora," Lilly interrupted. "You're a student and you're my sister. It's my job to support you through education. Besides, I like having you here. You know I hate being alone."

"And I love being here, but by looking after the shop for you today, I can repay you for all you're doing for me," Flora pointed out.

The two had now switched places. Flora was standing in front of the kitchen counter and Lilly was now sitting at the table, her chair swivelled ninety degrees so she could face her.

"But you help out in the shop all the time," Lilly went on.

"Exactly! There for, I am the perfect person for the job of looking after the shop, whilst Julie's on holiday and you're off sick," Flora said. "Don't worry. I'm happy to help out. Don't feel so guilty. I know what I'm doing."

Lilly sighed.

"It's okay, Lilly," Flora repeated for perhaps the tenth time that morning. "You need the rest. Besides, you said so yourself last night, you're not spending the day doing nothing. You'll carry on making things for the shop, and I'll just take care of the actual shop for the day."

"Okay. If you're sure," Lilly said.

Flora smiled, surprised and relieved that Lilly had finally given in. She smiled.

"Now, then, I better be off," Flora smiled. "I'll see you this evening."

"Actually, hold on, could you-" Lilly began to say, before stopping and shaking her head. "No, never mind. Doesn't matter."

"Lilly..." Flora said in a warning type of voice.

"It's just... On your way out, could you pick up the post. I can't exactly bend down..."

Flora laughed at her older sister and turned around, making her way down the hallway to the front door. Meanwhile, Lilly took out a yoghurt from the fridge and began to eat.

"Here you go," Flora said, quickly coming back into the room, holding her coat under one arm and letters in another. She dropped them on the table.

"Thank you!" Lilly called, after swallowing a mouthful of strawberry yoghurt. "Bye. Call me if anything goes wrong. One of the girls should be in at two. Sarah, I think it is. Or it might be Brianne. Either way, it will be on the rota in the back room."

"Okay. Bye," Flora said, still chuckling at Lilly's franticness.

"Goodbye," Lilly called after her.

Hearing the door shut, Lilly sighed and picked up the letters and her yoghurt and made her way through to the living room. She really did feel bad about having to ask Flora to manage her shop for the day, especially when she was studying at university. However, Lilly had to admit, she did need a day off. It wasn't just her swollen feet, but her back too. Besides, spending an extra day at home would allow her to make some new stock. Normally, she had time to do this on her days off, or even whilst minding the shop in quiet hours, but what with her assistant manager having taken holiday this week to go and visit her family, Lilly had never been off her feet. No wonder, what with that and her expecting a child in less than six weeks, the doctor had told her to take some time off work.

As Lilly sat down on the sofa, still eating her yoghurt, she put her feet up, which was something she loved doing having been brought up being told to never do such a thing. She began to rifle through the letters. The first one, a bill. She passed it to the side, to deal with later. The second, a letter addressed to Flora. Judging from the French postmark, she could tell that it was a letter from Luke, who was to arrive back to London some time shortly after the upcoming Christmas. She put that to the side, making a mental note to give it to Flora later. The next, a letter addressed to her. She recognised her maternal Grandmother's hand writing. Most likely about the baby. Even just reading a letter, Lilly wasn't in the mood to deal with her nagging, and so put the that letter on top of the bill. That left one letter:

 _Mrs Lillian Worthington_

 _27 Hilling Avenue_

 _Gressenheller_

 _London_

She looked at the post mark and frowned, not recognising it. Curiosity got the better of her and instead of putting it with the others, she ripped the top of it open.

 _Dearest Lilly,_

 _I hope you are well. I've been granted the privelege of being able to write a letter to you, however I can't update you on my situation as much as I'd like to as far too much of the information is classified. At least this letter will confirm you that I'm alive and well. There's little else I can tell you, but I like to think that this letter will give us both the hope we need until we meet again._

 _When we parted last, you told me that you were used to goodbyes. Though you meant it to reassure me, it by no means did, I'm sorry to say, as by being used to parting means that you have done so many times. I know you have suffered, and I'm sorry to have to continue it in being away for so long. I hope as much as you do that soon all this will be over and we can be together again._

 _Forgive me, but I do not know what else to say, other than that I am sure, above all else, that you'll see me soon. I hope this brings you some comfort._

 _All my love,_

 _Mr C Worthington_

"Lilly, what's wrong?"

Lilly looked up after hearing the alarmed voice, to see Flora, back in the house. She frowned, her changing facial muscles causing two wet drops to fall off her face. Only then did she realise she was crying.

"What are you doing back?" Lilly sniffed, drying her eyes with the bottom of her sleeves.

"Forgot the keys," Flora almost laughed, before asking again. "What's wrong?"

Lilly held out the letter, which Flora took after she made her way over. She quickly scanned the letter, before sighing and putting it down on the table, and going to sit beside Lilly.

"Are you missing him?" Flora asked.

"It's more than just that," Lilly replied. "It's the being in the dark. He's somewhere in the world, but I have no idea where, and he probably doesn't entirely know either. You know, yes, he was okay a few weeks ago when he wrote this letter, but... Now? Who knows? He could be dead now."

"You don't know that," Flora said gently.

"I'm terrified everyday that the door will knock, and the military will be there, and will tell me that my husband is dead, and that my baby will have no Father."

Flora sighed, hesitating. She wanted to tell her sister that everything would be fine in the end, but she knew she couldn't. For what if she said so and promised that her husband would return home soon, and then he never did. No one knew what would happen. All Lilly had was hope.

"Look, your husband has said so himself that you'll be seeing him again soon," Flora said. "He wouldn't give you false hope. For all you know, he's already on his way home."

"He could be," Lilly shrugged, though she contemplated the idea. She almost didn't want to give herself the chance. The idea of him coming home was almost too good to be true.

"Listen, I need to go, if you want me to open up your shop on time. But I'm sure everything is okay, Lilly," Flora reassured.

With one last squeeze of her hand, Flora left and Lilly was left alone in the house. Sitting there, she wondered how long it would be before it felt like a home again. Soon, she hoped.


	23. Pancakes, Letters and Family

**AN: I've just had this idea and I'm taking a break from writing the world's longest essay (I'm 3000 words in and barely halfway) to write this. I think the idea's come from because I've just started replaying all the games again, so I've been thinking about them lots.**

 **This chapter is set after Pandora's/Diabolical Box but before Lost/Unwound Future.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Lillyesque

Pancakes, Letters and Family

 _Sunday 15th October 1965_

"Good morning- Oh!"

Lilly sighed and rubbed her eyes, one hand on the handle of her front door. She yawned and then forced a smile.

"Morning," Lilly greeted. Having now rubbed the sleep out of her eyes she could see her father standing in the doorway to her flat, who looked rather surprised at her attire. Her dressing gown.

"I'm not early am I...?" The Professor checked, looking at his watch.

"Not at all. I slept in," Lilly said and then yawned again. She pulled the door open wider. "Come on in."

"Is it work again?" The Professor asked as he followed his daughter into her flat and into the kitchen.

"You guessed it," Lily said, filling the kettle up with water before placing it on the stove to boil. "The doorbell was my alarm clock this morning it appears."

From a look at her, the Professor could see that she was right. She did look tired and her hair was un-brushed. She sat down at the small dining table, careful to keep the baggy sleeves of her purple dressing gown from being caught on the back of the chair as she pulled it out from under the table. It was odd seeing her in her pyjamas now that she'd moved out.

"Were you working last night?" The Professor queried.

"Until one AM," Lilly replied with a small sigh.

"I thought the Bistro closed at twelve on a Saturday night?" The Professor said.

"They do, but cleaning up after a Saturday night takes a while," Lilly said with a small chuckle.

Yawning again, she looked up to see her father still standing in the kitchen doorway. She shook her head and laughed slightly.

"You can sit down, you know. You don't have to wait for me ask you to," Lilly said.

"I suppose not," The Professor said, taking the other chair and sitting down. "But it's a habit."

"You're too polite, father," Lilly said with another shake of her head. "I was going to make myself pancakes for breakfast. Would you like some, too?"

"That sounds lovely, dear," the Professor said with a smile.

There was a pause and then Lilly gave a small smirk.

"Is Flora's cooking still no good?" She said, before standing up to the whistling of the boiling kettle.

"Well..." The Professor paused, looking for a kind way to put it. "She tries. That's what counts."

"I think nutrition counts for something as well. Perhaps you should try talking to her about it," Lilly suggested, taking the kettle from the stove. "Tea, I take it?"

"That woud be lovely, thank you," The Professor said with a smile.

"Not at all," Lilly said, reaching for a teapot. "How is Flora, anyway? Is she adjusting to school all right?"

"She is. She has your old maths teacher," the Professor replied.

"Oh, no. Poor girl," Lilly said with a sigh.

"Why? Mr Drummer is a good teacher."

"He couldn't stand me. I was hopeless with algebra and it drove him mad. He thinks Flora and me are cousins, doesn't he? What if he thinks being bad at maths is genetic, or something? You know, how teachers always look out for siblings of older pupils who they didn't like. It's probably a good thing Alfendi and me went to different schools," Lilly remarked, as she finished preparing a pot of tea and placed it on the table with a teacup.

"Thank you," the Professor said with a chuckle. "Flora's reported no problems with any teachers. Besides, you're not as bad at maths as you think you are. You can solve a puzzle, can't you?"

"With a hint or three," Lilly admitted. "Good. I'm glad she's okay. You are paying her attention, aren't you? I don't want her dragging me away on anymore luxury trains in chase of you. I told you, didn't I? I'm done with all of that. I don't want to get caught up in it again just because she feels left out."

"And I want her out of danger," The Professor replied. "You know as well as I do that it's not always safe."

"Yet you always brought me along with you. I was only thirteen when I came face to face with that spectre," Lilly responded, her tone getting slightly angrier, which she quickly realised and stopped herself. She sighed. Arguing over it again would do nothing.

"You know that was different. I worried when you weren't by my side. I still do now, you know," the Professor said, before taking a sip of his tea.

Lilly, who had been about to start making the pancakes before the tension began to rise, sighed and looked down.

"I know," Lilly gave a small smile when she looked up.

"Besides," the Professor said. "It turned out I was right to, didn't it? What with Targent watching you all that time."

"Targent was watching the both of us," Lilly corrected. "I know Emmy changed in the end, but don't forget she was reporting back to Targent, too. She was always with you. With the both of us."

"I suppose you're right," the Professor said with a sigh. "Still, I do wish you came back home. You didn't have to move out just because of Flora."

"I didn't. You know, I-"

As Lilly felt herself return to an angry state, she stopped herself. She really was tired of fighting. She paused for a moment and the Professor was sure he saw a look of hesitation on her face, but if it was there, it was only brief. Turning around, she began to look through a pile of letters that had been left on the kitchen counter, next to the fridge.

The Professor had seen them, but thought nothing of it. She wrote by hand weekly to both sets of Grandparents and occasionally- if she didn't have time to visit, which was often- the Tritons, who were her Godparents. In addition, now she had her own flat, she had her own bills to pay. The kitchen counter was an odd place to keep letters, but the Professor's organisational skills were just as bad, and so he hadn't said anything.

"I wasn't going to tell you, but... I suppose it will stop you from worrying," Lilly said, picking a certain letter from the pile and handing it to him, before sitting down across him.

With a slight frown, the Professor took the letter. It was a brown envelope, which had already been opened- presumably, by Lilly. The envelope had no postmark and no stamp. The letter was addressed to Miss Layton but there was no delivery address written on the envelope.

 _Miss Lillian Layton,_

 _This letter may come as a shock. For your comfort, I will tell you that your address was obtained by one Emmy Altava, who I hear you were attempting to contact. I have had this letter delivered by hand by an assistant whom I have complete faith in. I have no written records of your current address or any other information about your whereabouts in my possession which could fall into the wrong hands._

 _I am writing to you to reassure you about the events of the past week. You may have noticed a man in your place of work, apartment building or in any other area you frequently visit. Although Targent has fallen apart since we last met, I felt it necessary to ensure that you and your family were no longer being watched by any Targent agents or other spies. This man who you may have noticed, I can ensure is an agent of mine, who had the job of ensuring that Targent truly had been disbanded, which I can now guarantee has. In addition, I can confirm that there are no spies, Targent or otherwise, currently watching you or your family._

 _For your further safety and comfort, I had my agent leave a contact number in your work locker, which you can use if you ever feel that your safety is again, compromised._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Jean Descole_

The Professor took his time, reading the letter at least three times (and some parts even more times) before he felt that he had retrieved all information the letter beared. He even looked over several parts, wondering if there was a secret message or puzzle hidden somewhere in the letter- perhaps one like the message in Luke's letter asking him to come to Misthallery- but there was nothing. After several minutes, during which Lilly had begun to make pancakes, and put a plate of three in front of him, along with a pot of jam, he put the letter down and looked up.

"I have several questions," the Professor said, looking over at Lilly, who was by the stove, carefully trying to turn over a half-cooked pancake with a spatula (she didn't trust herself to try and flip them).

"I thought you might. I'm guessing the first question is why I've been trying to get in contact with Emmy?" Lilly suggested, before piling the pancake onto a plate for herself and then returning to the stove to make another.

"Actually, I assumed you just missed her. She was a big part of your life for three years," the Professor replied. "But I am curious as to how you managed to get your address to her without having one for her. She moved out of the University accomodation when she resigned as my assistant. She refused to give me any new address."

"Inspector Grosky," Lilly replied. "I went to Scotland Yard and asked him if he knew where Emmy was. He said he didn't, but he still speaks with her sometimes. She comes in and gives tips about criminals. I think she's some sort of private investigator now or something. So I left him a letter to give her. I don't know why or how Descole found Emmy, though."

"I imagine he wanted to see if she was still working for Targent," the Professor suggested.

"Most likely," Lilly agreed, piling a second pancake onto her plate.

"Second question: why didn't you tell me if noticed someone following you around? Even if you're just skeptical you should let me know immediately. Even if it's just as a precaution," The Professor said. Lilly noticed the stern tone to his voice, but knew it was only his protective side. Like it was when investigating, he preferred her in danger by his side than in unknown circumstances at home.

"The man Descole sent, you mean? Well..." Lilly put a the third pancake on her plate and then sat back at the table. "Truthfully, I never noticed him. Maybe he was just good at his job. Maybe I'm just unobservant."

"Do you have the contact number Descole mentions in this letter?"

"Yes. I found it in my locker at work the day after I received this letter. I have it in a drawer in my room. I doubt I'll ever have to use it, though."

"Hmm..." The Professor thought for a moment, before taking a sip of his tea.

"Anymore questions?"

"One more," the Professor said, putting down his teacup. "Why would Descole go to the trouble of doing all of this?"

"The same reason I wasn't invited to see the Eternal Diva, why I got sick onboard the Bostonius, and why I was put into a different room when we were arrested in Misthallery," Lilly said. She'd started to eat her breakfast but in light of the serious conversation she found herself unable to eat. "Thinking back to it all, he's always tried to keep me safe and away from potential danger."

"But what I don't understand is... Why? Why, you and not others?" The Professor said with a slight frown, as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle. "Not that I don't want you to be safe, dear, but it does seem odd, doesn't it?"

"It's because he had a daughter. He told Emmy and myself whilst we were in Missonia. And a wife," Lilly said somberly. "They both died at the hands of Targent. His daughter would have been the same age as me had she still have been alive."

The Professor blinked, but other than that was still. He opened his mouth to say something but promptly closed it again. Lilly could tell he was unsure what to say next.

"It's not just that, though. Well, I don't think so, anyway," Lilly went on. "He was nearly you. If he hadn't have said you were Hershel, he'd have gone off to live with the Grandma and Grandpa and he'd be Professor Hershel Layton, founder of the Golden Garden, amongst other things. And you'd be Theodore Bronev and perhaps lose your wife and daughter and become... Jean Descole. And I think he hoped that if it was the other way around, the way around, that you'd still keep his daughter safe. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it."

Lilly sighed and gave him a faint smile before reaching across the table and taking his hand.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps not," the Professor replied with a smile and a squeeze of her hand.

"Papa, I know you lost your parents, even if you can't remember much of them. And Randall. And Mama. But at least you have me. And Luke and Flora. And Grandma and Grandpa," Lilly said gently, speaking in a hushed tone. "I think the both of you have been terribly unfortunate and it turned Descole into... Well, Descole. Maybe he worried that if you lost another person that you'd turn into a similar form of Descole. He's still your brother, even after all of that. He still cared."

"Perhaps, my dear. Perhaps," the Professor smiled, giving her another, tighter squeeze of her hand before letting go. "As long as you're safe. That's what counts."

"And I am," Lilly reassured. "Now, let's eat there pancakes, shall we? They're going cold!"

* * *

 **AN: So I can't write a 7500 word essay in two weeks (You guessed it. The paper's due in on Monday!) but I can bust out a 2500 word fanfiction in an hour and a half.**

 **So, the plan for the next chapter: I'm revealing (though it's obvious) Lilly's husband. Then, the chapter after that I shall do a multi-chapter story of one of the games. Which game you ask? You decide!**

 **Vote in reviews between Pandora/Diabolical Box and Azran Legacy!**

 **Votes will be counted from this chapter and the next's reviews! If I get no reviews/votes, which understandably happens sometimes, I'll pick! :)**

 **So guys, if you're reading: let me know!**

 **Nikki~**


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